m^zi-y^-^  'i^d^^'j 


J  D    3  J    > 


CHEVAI^IER  ROBii RT  de  LA  SAI,!,^. 


(COLUMBIAN  EDITION.) 


The  Picturesque  Ohio. 


CI  historical  rOonograpt^ 


•  >'«•»       -     '  »• 


BY  C.  M.  CLARK, 


I 


CINCINNATI:  CRANSTON  &  CURTS. 
NEW  YORK  :  HUNT  &  EATON. 


Copyrighted 

BY 

C.  ivi.  CLARK. 

1887. 


•  •     •  re 

•  •  c     c 

•  •    c  c  c    c 


Put)Ii^I)ers^    Ipbroduchior). 


FITLY  celebrating  the  Four  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  the 
Discovery  of  America,  it  is  but  natural  that  each  section 
of  the  Republic  should  hasten  to  record  its  contribution  to 
the  building  of  the  Nation,  and  claim  its  share  in  the  Nation's 
wealth  and  glory.  Not  harm,  but  only  good,  can  come  from  a 
friendly  emulation  among  the  States;  for  while  the  Nation  must 
ever  be  greater  than  any  one  of  its  component  commonwealths, 
it  is  still  true  that  the  glory  of  the  Nation  is  but  the  aggregate 
glory  of  all  the  States.  The  Nation  is  what  the  States  have 
contributed  to  make  it;  and  because  we  appreciate  our  common 
heritage  of  obligation  and  of  privilege  in  the  Nation,  we  have  a 
laudable  pride  in  what  our  own  communities  have  done  to  make 
that  heritage  splendid. 

Of  all  the  commonwealths,  great  empires  in  themselves,  which 
have  helped  to  make  this  Republic  the  marvel  of  history,  none 
have  more  reason  for  honest  pride  and  self-congratulation  than 
those  which  lie  in  the  fertile  valley  watered  by  the  Ohio  and  its 
tributaries.  Touching  at  their  eastern  entrance  the  western 
base  of  the  AUeghanies,  they  caught  the  first  influx  of  that  im- 
migration which,  as  soon  as  independence  was  won  and  peace 
declared,  burst  through  the  mountain  barriers,  and  poured  its 
restless  human  tides  into  the  great  Mississippi  Valley.  If  favor- 
able physical  conditions  have  anything  to  do  with  making  States, 
certainly  they  found  such  conditions,  who  halted  their  weather- 
stained  immigrant  wagons  on  the  banks  of  the  Muskingum  or 

ryi76069 


6  PUBLISHERS'  INTRODUCTION. 

Miami,  on  the  rolling  table-lands  of  Kentucky,  or  amid  the 
trackless  forests  of  Indiana.  Here  was  soil  which  for  ages  had 
fed  great  forests,  to  receive  its  compensation  when  the  generous 
boughs  scattered  their  leaves  under  the  touch  of  autumn  frosts, 
until  unlimited  productiveness  awaited  the  labor  of  the  husband- 
man. Here  were  beautiful  streams,  which  had  never  reflected 
the  face  of  civilized  man,  waiting  to  give  like  reward  to  the 
genius  and  thrift  of  the  manufacturer,  while  the  broad,  sweeping 
river  and  its  tributaries  afforded  certain  avenues  of  communi- 
cation and  transportation. 

We  call  Columbus  the  discoverer  of  America,  and  celebrate 
his  exploit  with  blare  of  trumpet  and  flutter  of  pennon.  But 
would  it  not  be  truer  to  history  to  call  the  Genoese  navigator  a 
Discoverer  rather  than  the  Discoverer  of  America?  In  other 
words,  has  not  the  real  America  had  many  discoverers,  rather 
than  one  or  two? 

What,  after  all,  did  Columbus  discover?  An  island  in  the  sea, 
a  dissevered  fragment,  so  insignificant  that  to-day  we  scarcely 
give  it  a  thought.  He  died  without  a  dream  of  the  vast  territory 
which  his  courage,  and  persistency,  and  faith  had  opened  to 
civilization. 

What  did  Columbus  know,  or  those  who  came  after  him  for 
three  hundred  years,  of  what  America  held  in  store  for  men  ?  To 
Columbus  his  voyage  meant  simply  larger  scope  for  the  old 
systems  of  oppression;  more  gold  for  the  coffers  of  kings;  more 
territory  for  the  ambition  of  conquerors;  more  slaves  for  the 
service  of  aristocracy.  Or,  if  we  must  grant  him  the  possession 
of  a  religious  impulse  (which,  in  the  light  ot  all  testimony  bear- 
ing upon  his  character,  seems  exceedingly  doubtful),  it  was  at 
best  but  a  desire  to  extend  the  power  of  the  tyrannous  Roman 


PUBLISHERS'  INTRODUCTION.  7 

hierarchy.  To  later  discoverers  remained  the  vision  of  an  almost 
boundless  continent,  into  whose  exhaustless  stores  God  had  opened 
wide  the  door,  inviting  the  oppressed  of  earth  to  broadest  libertj^ 
to  unparalleled  prosperity,  and  to  the  building  of  a  new  civiliza- 
tion, whose  comer-stone  should  be  the  freedom  of  the  individual 
conscience.  If  our  neighbors  of  Roman  Catholic  faith  simply 
vied  with  others,  as  citizens  of  a  common  country,  heirs  of  a  com- 
mon heritage,  in  extolling  the  liberties  and  glories  of  the  Repub- 
lic, all  would  welcome  their  enthusiasm.  But  we  can  not  accept 
America  at  the  hands  of  Rome.  Only  by  its  providential  deliv- 
erance from  Spanish  domination  has  the  vast  territory  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada  escaped  the  fate  of  Mexico  and  the 
South  American  States. 

With  this  thought  the  publishers  send  forth  this  volume.  We 
would  not  minify  the  greatness  of  the  Discoverer,  but  we  would 
magnify  the  courage  and  foresight  and  self-sacrifice  of  the  Dis- 
covKRERS.  If  it  required  faith  and  courage  and  unbending 
strength  of  purpose  in  Columbus  to  go  out  over  the  trackless 
ocean  toward  unknown  perils,  it  required  no  less  courage  and 
faith  and  strength  of  purpose  in  La  Salle  and  Boone,  and  other 
explorers,  to  tread  the  dark  forests,  enduring  exposure  and  fatigue 
and  hunger,  and  in  constant  peril  from  savage  beasts  and  not  less 
savage  men.  If  his  discovery  is  worthy  of  grateful  commemo- 
ration, theirs  should  not  be  forgotten.  And  so  it  seemed  to  us 
that  we  could  make  no  more  fitting  contribution  to  this  great 
anniversary  than  to  send  this  beautiful  volume,  recording  their 
deeds  of  courage  and  devotion,  into  thousands  of  Methodist 
homes. 

We  can  not  forget  what  history  records — that  for  two  hun- 
dred years  Catholic  monarchs  and  popes  struggled  in  vain  for  a 


8  PUBLISHERS'  INTRODUCTION. 

foothold  on  the  Atlantic  Coast ;  and  that  they  who  did  at  last 
take  possession  of  it,  and  laid  the  permanent  foundations  of  the 
National  life  were  not  Romanists,  but  Protestants,  driven  by 
Romanist  persecution  from  their  European  homes.  Granting 
that  the  rocky  headlands  of  the  coast  were  first  seen  by  eyes 
which  adored  the  crucifix,  thk  Nation  was  discovered  by  men 
.every  drop  of  whose  blood  cried  out  against  Roman  superstition 
and  oppression,  and  who,  with  prophetic  vision,  read  God's  pur- 
poses of  emancipation  in  the  opening  of  the  New  World.  As 
Methodists,  we  should  be  untrue  to  the  memory  of  our  fathers 
did  we  permit  their  part  in  the  planting  and  building  of  the 
Nation  to  be  forgotten.  The  path  of  the  circuit-rider  may  be 
traced  all  over  this  great  central  valley  of  the  continent.  His 
deeds  of  self-sacrificing  heroism  are  w^oven  into  the  traditions 
of  every  community.  He  swept  like  a  herald  of  light  from 
settlement  to  settlement.  Where  other  ecclesiastical  systems, 
with  their  formal  methods  of  pastoral  supply,  were  utterly 
inadequate,  the  Methodist  itinerancy,  with  such  generals  as 
Francis  Asbury  and  Wm.  McKendree  in  command,  was  fully 
adequate.  The  preacher  on  horseback,  with  wardrobe  and  li- 
brar}^  in  the  saddle-bags,  always  ready  to  move,  waiting  for 
no  call  except  the  all-inclusive  call  of  God,  was  just  the  sort 
of  man  for  that  time.  He  came  with  the  first  settler,  and  ar- 
ranged to  stay.  He  came  with  a  genius  for  organization.  His 
mission  was  not  simply  the  evangelizing  of  dissevered  com- 
munities. He  helped  to  weld  the  scattered  fragments  into  unity, 
and  so  to  make  possible  the  Nation.  He  stimulated  the  intel- 
lectual life  of  the  people.  He  did  not  preach  a  faith  which 
appealed  to  the  ignorance  and  credulity  of  its  adherents.  He 
advocated  the   emancipation   of  the  human    intellect    and  will 


PUBLISHERS'  INTRODUCTION.  9 

from  every  thrall  of  ignorance  and  superstition.  Out  of  his 
saddle-bags  came  the  first  books  that  found  their  way  into  the 
remote  cabins  where  citizenship  was  being  formed.  He  was  patron 
of  school  and  press.  It  is  significant  that  the  very  Conference, 
in  1784,  which  gave  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  its  formal 
organization,  projected  a  college  and  pledged  its  support  to  higher 
education,  and  that  among  the  first  enterprises  of  the  new  eccle- 
siastical body  was  the  founding  of  a  house  for  the  publication 
and  dissemination  of  books.  Out  of  Methodist  academies  and 
colleges  and  universities,  scattered  all  over  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio,  have  come  men  and  women,  cultured  in  brain  and  heart, 
to  adorn  every  walk  of  life  and  fill  every  position  of  trust,  even 
to  the  highest  in  the  Republic.  Thus,  from  first  to  last,  along  the 
constantly  lengthening  lines  of  National  life  and  power,  has 
Methodism  wrought  for  God  and  country. 

The  publishing-house  from  which  this  book  issues,  is  itself  at 
once  a  product  and  an  exponent  of  the  intellectual  life  of  Meth- 
odism in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  Started  in  1820,  simply  as  a 
depository  for  the  distribution  of  Methodist  publications,  it  has 
steadily  increased  its  facilities  to  keep  pace  with  growing  de- 
mands, until  its  business  engages  a  capital  of  over  a  million 
dollars,  and  during  the  past  quadrennium  there  have  dropped  from 
its  busy  presses  more  than  a  billion  and  a  half  of  printed  pages. 

That  this  volume  may  stimulate  Christian  patriotism  in  every 
home  to  which  it  finds  admittance,  and  in  some  measure  help  to 
bring  this  land  of  ours  into  the  heritage  which  God  reserves  for 
it,  and  into  which  his  truth  alone  can  lead  it,  is  our  prayer. 

CRANSTON  &  CURTS,  Publishing  Agents. 
Cincinnati,  November^  1892. 


eoNTEl^TS. 


H  ISTORIC  A  L 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE. 

Where  the  River  is  Born," 21 


CHAPTER  II. 
The  Discoverer  and  the  Discovery  of  the  River, 33 

CHAPTER  III. 
French  and  Engwsh  Contests  for  the  Ohio, 53 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EARI.Y  SETTI.EMENTS, 63 


CHAPTER  V. 
Indian  Confi^icts  on,  and  for  the  River, 103 


eo^TE^TS 


t   €)ec0i)a 


0i» 


DKSORIF»TlVK. 

PAGE. 

Afi^oat  on  the  Deep,  Shining  River, 187 


Notes, 231 

12 


JUIiUST54TlO]^S. 


]f«rf    Birsf. 

ARTISTS.  PAGE, 

Frontispiece:     Chevauer     Robert    de     i,a 

Salle Crayon  by  S.  J.  Ferris, 

"  Ives  Process." 

A  Sudden  Darkness \Vm.  Hamilton  Gibson,"    17 

Eng.  by  Harley. 

"  Where  THE  River  IS  born," A.Cross, 21 

Eng.  by  Harley. 

"Lazily  drop  from  Pool  to  Pool,"    ....  Rhoda  Holmes  Nichols,    23 

Eng.  by  Harley. 

••Chestnut  Burrs,"     A.Cross, 26 

Eng.  by  Harley. 

"The    Red    Light    the    Proud    Cardinal 

Carries, A.  Cross 27 

Eng.  by  Harley. 

"A  Dragon-fly  in  Swift  Flight," E.  T.  Rockwell,    ...      28 

Eng.  by  Harley. 

*'A  Melancholy  Jay-bird  tells  the  Moving 

Story  of  her  Woes," Fidilia  Bridges,    ...      29 

Eng.  by  Harley. 

"  To  BE  PULLED  ASIDE  AT  THE   REPRODUCTION 

OF  THE  Miracle  Play  of  Spring,"  .   .    .  H.  F.  Farny,     ....     30 

Eng.  by  Harlf-y. 

A  Bend  in  THE  River, Miss  Louise  McLaughlin,    32 

Electro  Tint  F.no.  Co. 

Early  Days  on  "The  Shining  River,"     .    .  C.  H^rry  Eaton,       -    .      52 

"  Mosstype  "  Eng.  Co. 

Three  Hundred  Feet  up  Blackvvater,   .   .  Photo, 61 

"  Mosstype  "  Eng.  Co. 
13 


14  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

ARTISTS.  PAGE. 

"A  Mountain  Tarn," Photo,     91 

"  Ives  Process." 

Indians  Fishing  in  the  .\i.i.egheny, H.  F.  Farny, 103 

"  Ives  Process." 

Spanning  North  Fork, Photo, 145 

"  Mosstype"  Eng.  Co. 

The  Cherubs'  Roost, Photo,     161 

"  Mosstype  "  Eng.  Co. 

"The  Dun  Deer  that  yet  linger  in  the 

Mountains," PI.  F.  Farny, 182 

"  Ives  Process." 


l^ctrf    ©ec0r)(a, 

artists.  page. 

Up  Cheat  River, Bryson  Burroughs,  .    .    183 

"  Ives  Process." 

Fishing  on  the  Kanawha, H.  F.  Farny, 189 

Looking  up  Ei^k  Creek  (Charleston,  W.  Va  ),  Photo, 195 

"  Ives  Process." 

Bridge  over  the  Ravine, Vogt, •   •   •    210 

Eng.  by  Weisbrodt. 

Pi^AN  OF  Cairo, 225 

Eng.  for  National  Bank. 

View  on  the  Greenbrier, Burroughs, 230 


PART    FIRST. 


THE 

HISTORICAL  MONOGRAPH 


OF 


^be  JScautifiU  IRlver. 


'A   SUDDEN    DARKNESS   SHROUDS  THE   CRESTED    PEAKS."-Page  29 


li^apf^r  L    •!  !/A 


The/ Ohio  River— mountain  -  born   and   valley  -  fed— gathers  the 


22' c  \  /      \;  ;  ;/;  T^^E  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

*         ^  <       (  f      (         r         I  I 

<  '       f       €         fr         t        .   .    .      r 

-c'c  Jiiy^  iffl>ut^ri^s;of  J  i(G''twoj  formative  and  its  southern  affluents  from 
the  heights,  uplands,  ravines  and  valleys  of  the  western  watershed 
of  that  section  of  the  Appalachian  chain  which  links  the  broken 
spurs  of  the  irregular  Catskill  to  the  frowning  and  rugged  ridges  of 
the  southern  Alleghany. 

The  sources  of  these  small  streams  are  as  varied  as  are  the 
mountain  silhouettes,  or  the  ever-changeful  skies  above  them.  They 
are  collected  drop  by  drop  in  the  rain-caverns  of  the  highest  peaks, 
in  the  slight  depressions  of  the  uplifted  dells,  in  the  rock-ribbed 
ravines  that  flank  the  crested  summits,  and  from  the  crystal  springs 
that  issue  through  the  ledges  of  the  craggy  cliffs.  Upon  the  very 
topmost  heights  an  occasional  silvery  line  runs  over  the  face  of 
the  battlemented  steeps ;  or  a  miniature  flood  leaps  sheer  into  space, 
breaking  in  silvery  drops  as  it  falls  into  the  dusky  tarn  beneath. 

The  little  wandering  rivulets  wind  about  in  solitary  threads  of 
sinuous  trace,  until  some  obstacle  of  rock  or  tree  brings  their  re- 
verted coils  together  ;  then,  as,  the  volume  of  water  increases,  the 
brook  hurries  over  slope  and  precipice  to  its  outlet  from  the  heights. 

Lower  down  the  mountain-side,  where  the  swelling  ridges  widen, 
the  gathering  of  the  waters  begins.  The  brawling  brooks  fall  together, 
singing  of  the  cliffs  they  have  left  and  the  dangers  they  have  passed. 
And  now  the  chorus  grows  loud  and  full,  for  the  arching  forest 
aisles  echo  and  re-echo  'the  sound,  as  the  foaming,  glittering  waves 
rush  over  the  rocks  down  to  where  noise  and  glitter  are  lost  in 
the  stream  that  tranquilly  glides  through  long,  narrow  stretches  of 
emerald -tinted  meadows. 

But  the  incoming   of  the  watery  tribute   is   not   yet   ended  ;    for 


WHERE  THE  RIVER  IS  BORN. 


23 


through   the  outlying  fields  and 
orchards  which  cover  the  slopes 
that  fall  from  the  thickly-wooded 
hills,  and  over  the  shelving  de- 
scent of  the  broken  uplands,  the  slow- 
going  little  creeks  lazily  drop  from  pool 
to  pool  as  the  wrinkling  circles  send  their 
pulsing  currents 
onward   to   the 
^■j  "meeting  of 
j  the  waters/' 


24  .  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

When  the  broad-bosomed  valleys  of  the  rich  lowlands  are  reached, 
the  Ohio  gathers  its  tributaries  and  goes  on  to  join  the  Mississippi 
in  its  triumphant  march  to  the  Gulf. 

From  their  sources  upon  the  giddy  heights  to  where  they  are 
lost  in  their  union  with  the  valley  streams,  each  one  of  the  moun- 
tain rivulets  which  contributes  to  the  Ohio  perfectly  fits  into  the 
wild  and  broken  landscape  it  traverses.  The  characteristics  of 
rivulet  and  sylvan  landscape  are  distinctly  defined ;  yet,  as  counter- 
parts,  they  thoroughly  harmonize. 

From  where  they  issue  beneath  cleft  and  jutting  spur  of  the 
cloud-touched  ridges,  beside  tufts  of  hanging  harebells  that  dot  the 
bold  escarpments,  to  where  they  come  dancing  over  the  edges  of  the 
mossy  cliffs  that  brokenly  terrace  the  wide  stretches  between  the 
forest-crowned  peaks,  these  rippling  streamlets  are  piece  and  parcel 
of  the  wild  scenery  they  serve  to  illustrate  and  relieve.  They  gurgle 
over  rocky  beds  through  dense  forests  which  the  morning  sun  never 
sees  and  which  the  westering  sun  hardly  pierces  with  its  long, 
shadowy,  glimmering  rays.  In  fertile,  uplying  glades  they  turn  and 
return  until  their  twisted  curves  encircle  fairy-like  bits  of  woodland 
scenery  to  which  the  noonday  splendor  of  the  high  levels  lends  the 
glamour  of  enchantment.  They  wind  beneath  long  vistas  of  over- 
arching trees,  where  the  gnarled  roots  are  covered  with  a  carpet  of 
tinted  mosses  in  which  tiny  blue  and  purple  flowers  lie  hidden. 
They  linger  where  the  waving  plumes  of  flags  and  of  the  broad- 
bladed  grasses  border  the  water-line;  and  where  the  crimson-spotted 
trout  skim  along  the  shallows,  or  leap  in  flame-tinted  flashes  out 
of  the  depths  of  the  still,  shadowy  pools.  Their  wavelets  creep  up 
the  shelving  banks   to  touch   the  starry-eyed    flowers    that    look   out 


WHERE  THE  RIVER  IS  BORN.  25 

Irom  the  gold-broidered  stretches  of  the  narrow  upland  meadows, 
and  they  loiter,  in  changing  circles,  under  the  drooping  branches  of 
the  sweet-scented  mountain  honeysuckle.  If  the  year  is  young,  and 
a  pattering  shower  dimples  the  brook  and  hurries  it  over  the  broken 
rifts  downward,  it  rushes  in  mad  haste  between  the  jagged  boughs 
of  the  storm-twisted  and  flame-scarred  trees  of  the  rugged  hillside  ; 
whirling  in  noisy  flight  around  the  rough  clearings,  where  the  leaf- 
less skeletons  of  the  wooded  belt  tell  how  fire  was  used  to  eke  out 
the  sharp  strokes  of  the  woodman's  axe,  down  to  where  a  sudden 
turn  leads  into  some  secluded  valley,  suggestive  of  the  fox,  the  bear, 
and  the  dun  deer  that  yet  linger  in  the  mountains,  and  of  the  stately 
sachem  who  once  stalked  these  coverts. 

When  the  icy  fetters  of  winter  are  fairly  broken,  when  mountain- 
side and  fell  are  brightened  with  the  white-blossoming  dogwood 
and  the  rose-hued  thickets  of  the  gay  red-bud,  when  the  slow- 
melting  floods  have  reached  the  lower  levels— then  the  swamp- 
willows  take  their  first  faint  tinge  of  color ;  the  trailing  arbutus 
puts  on  its  pale-rose  tint,  and  all  the  little  sweet-scented  things  that 
sleep  under  the  snow  are  blooming  in  the  wood.  The  languor 
and  perfume  of  spring  is  in  the  air,  the  May-apple  blossoms  hang 
under  their  tented  baves,  and 

**  Crowned  daffodils  are  dight  in  green." 

When  Spring  has  taken  flight — with  her  train  of  delicate  beauties 
' — summer  comes  to  the  mountains,  bringing  warmth  and  richness 
of  color  into  the  wild  life  that  the  languorous  spring  only  stirred 
into  a  half-awakened  existence. 

In  the   hot   months   Nature   scatters   her  gifts   broadcast.     Then 


26  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

the  heights  are  aglow  with  splendour.      The  firs  are  decked  with  an 
edging  of  prickly  lace,  the  pines  put  on  all  their  bravery  of  shining 

leaves  and  cone-coronets ; 
and  while  chestnut  burrs 
are  forming,  the  tints  of 
the  spring  -  clad  forest- 
kings  are  deepened.  In 
the  sun-lit  glades  where 
nutty  treasures  are  be- 
ginning to  ripen  on  the 
hazel  and  chincapin 
bushes,  the  laurel  uplifts 
its  showy,  crimson-spot- 
ted clusters  above  the 
purple -flowered  tufts  of 
the  wild  geranium.  The 
colour  -  changing,  fringed 


WHERE  THE  RIVER  IS  BORN. 


27 


orchis  dots  the  bank  above  the  brook  ; — while 
down  below,  the  trout  lazily  rise  to  the  thirsty 
fly  that  buzzes  between  sips  to  his  shadow. 
In   the   shelving  mountain-passes  through 
which     summer 
streamlets  are  slow- 
ly flowing,   the 
flowers   are  all  on 
show,  —  even    to 
those    little     gad- 
abouts, the  ground- 
ivy   and    the   lace- 
vine  (so  named  by 
the  mountain  folk) 
be  fu  r  b  e  1  o  we  d 
in  gossamer.     The 
walking- 
f  e  r  n     has 
crossed  a 
tiny    rill    to 
see  the  red 
lights  the 
proud  car- 
dinal car- 
ries on  the 
top   of    its 
tall    stalks  : 
while    frorr 


28 


THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO, 


every  coigne  of  vantage,  of  sunny  bank  or  deep,  shade-environed  dell, 
the  prickly  branches  ^ 


^^). 


f 


of  the  wild  eglantine 

ym 

^g^g 

pride,     their    wealth 

.tum 

^^^g 

and    blossoming 

"S 

s^^^ 

on-fly     in    swift      ^^ 

^ 

^^^*^ 

by  a  question  of 

d 

^^SKW^dv'  f 

ment  to  an  outlying 

F 

^^wBk 

tain's  eastern  slope — 

c 

Wr^^ 

the  wing,   and    then 

^' 

of  a   blushing    rose 
larkspur,  which          V^ 

ful    stem    from           1 

^£ 

4HH| 

bour,     as      the           J| 

^^H§ 

what  the  thrush            * 

^H^ 

low-hammer        ^^P 

hRI^ 

birds  fell  m-  ^j?^^ 

mm 

twitter  oy^^^B 

NhH 

gnarled                      ^ 

\     >h  *  M^i'TS^ 

a  vine  has  woven  a  summer 


uplift,  in  stately 
of  opening  buds 
flowers.  A  drag- 
flight  —  called 
great  pith  and  mo- 
glade  on  themoun- 
rests  a  second  on 
alights  on  the  face 
to  watch  the  blue 
is  waving  its  grace- 
neighbour  to  neigh- 
men  y  gossips    tell 
w  histled  to  the  yel- 
when    the    mocking- 
to  such   a  rollickmg 
laughter. 

by  the  bank,  in  a 
old  tree  around  which 
screen,  a  melancholy 


WHERE  THE  RIVER  IS  BORN, 


29 


jay-bird  tells  the  moving  story  of  her  woes  to  a  sympathetic  but  hungry 
robin  which  has  its  near  eye  flooded  with  misty  drops  of  pity  and  its 
off"  eye  fixed  on  a  fat  worm  it  means  to  dine  upon,  when  Mrs.  Jay  ends 
her  story  of  the  heartless  woodpecker  that  kept  up  its  horrible  ham- 
mering on  her  house-tree  until, 
between  the  frights  and  the 
falls  of  the  nestlings  in  trying  to 
see  the  monster,  she  lost  the  last 

of  her  promising  brood.    Before  ^S^^fe!^  ^^ 

the  story  is  ended,  or  the  worm 
IS  caught,  a  sudden  darkness 
shrouds  the  crested  peaks. 


30 


THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 


A  fierce  wind  comes  shrieking  up  the  pass  scattering  the  watery 
fragments  of  the  storm-cloud  it  carries,  as  it  rushes  on  leaving  ruin 
in  its  track. 

The  robin  vanishes  with  the  quick-coming  storm.  The  jay's  nest 
falls  as  the  nestlings  had  fallen;  and  the  melancholy  little  grass-widow 
is  left  to  smooth  her  wet  and  ruffled  feathers — all  alone,  in  a  homeless 
world. 

The  larkspur  and  her  merry  neighbours  are  lying  prone  upon  the 
ground,  near  a  broken  dragon-fly  that  is  buried  beneath  the  torn  petals 
of  a  rose.  The  cardinal-flower  has  lost  its  red  lights;  and  the  tiny 
rill — changed  to  a  rain-laden  rivulet — sweeps  over  the  track  of  the 
walking-fern.  The  "lace-vine's  gossamer  furbelows"  are  torn  into 
shreds,  and  the  flower-covered  bank  is  floating  upon  a  muddy  and 
swollen  stream. 

But  a  cloudless  night  and  the  sun-kisses  of  a  summer  morning, 
will  uplift  the  fallen  and  heal  the  wounded.  Where  the  dead  have 
gone  down,  there  will  be  an  increase  of  life  ;  but  between  loss  and 
increase  the  fructifying  winter  must  come: — a  drop-curtain  to  be  pulled 
aside  at  the  reproduction  of  the  miracle-play  of  Spring. 


THE  DISCOVERER  AND  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  RIVER. 

THE  Discoverer  of  the  Ohio,  Robert  Rene  Cavelier,  was 
bom  November  22,  1643,  at  his  father's  country-seat,  called 
La  Salle,  hard  by  the  famous  old  city  of  Rouen,  in  Normandy. 

The  Caveliers  belonged  to  the  Grande  Bourgeoisie,  that  untitled 
class  from  which  the  nobility  of  France  was  recruited  after  the 
autocratic  power  of  the  great  nobles  was  curbed  by  their  enforced 
vassalage  to  the  crown.  The  father  and  uncle  of  young  Cave- 
lier  were  wealthy  merchants,  and  some  of  the  connection  held 
places  of  trust  and  honor  at  Court.  That  his  parents  were  people 
of  good  position  in  Rouen  is  evident  from  the  education  and 
breeding  of  the  younger  son,  who  at  an  early  age  was  placed 
with  the  Jesuits,  where  his  ability  was  recognized  and  fostered. 

It  is  asserted  by  several  of  his  contemporaries  that  before  his 
father's  death  Robert  was  designed  for  the  priesthood,  and  that 
he  had  already  entered  his  novitiate.  It  is  probable  that  this  is 
true,  for  the  existing  records  prove  that  he  had  in  some  way  lost 
all  legal  right  to  a  share  in  his  father's  estate,  and,  under  the 
French  law  of  that  period,  connection  with  the  Jesuits  would 
have  entailed  its  forfeiture. 

The  scant  gleanings  that  can  be  gathered  from  the  few  letters 
preserved  in  the  French  archives  as  to  the  manner  of  La  Salle's 
early  life  give  the  bare  facts,  that  when  he  was  twenty-one  years 
of  age  he  parted  with  the  Jesuits  on  fri-endly  terms,  they  giving 
him  excellent  testimonials  to  his  scholarly  attainments,  his  good 

33 


34  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

conduct,  and  his  unblemished  character;  that  an  annuity  of 
four  hundred  livres  was  given  him  from  the  inheritance  of  his 
father;  that  an  exchange  of  this  annuity  for  the  capital  it  repre- 
sented was  effected ;  and  that,  with  this  modest  sum,  he  sailed 
for  Canada  in  1666  to  discover  for  France  the  richest  possession 
she  has  ever  let  slip  from  her  grasp. 

Although  history  has  given  but  meager  data  by  which  to 
discern  so  checkered  a  personality  as  that  of  Robert  Cavelier, 
who  disappears  from  the  list  of  Jesuit  novices  in  1664  to  reap- 
pear as  M.  de  la  Salle  in  an  officia^  report  from  Patoulet  to 
Colbert,  November  11,  1669;  though  we  can  not  "clothe  him  in 
his  very  habit  as  he  lived,"  we  have  sufficient  indication  of  under- 
lying characteristics  in  the  rapid  movement  of  his  life,  to  sketch 
a  man  of  action  whose  soul  is  unveiled  in  the  record  of  his 
achievements.  That  he  had  a  clear  intellect  and  that  divining 
instinct  of  discovery  which,  without  any  traceable  process,  com- 
putes the  results  that  await  effort,  is  demonstrated  by  his  suc- 
cess in  the  teeth  of  obstacles  that  detached  from  him  in  his  first 
expedition  all  following  except  the  devoted,  unreasoning  In- 
dian, whose  higher  law  was  comradeship  in  danger  after  the 
persuasion  of  prudence  had  failed.  That  he  was  able,  ambitious, 
calm,  discreet,  enthusiastic,  fearless,  indefatigable,  reticent,  self- 
poised,  absolute  of  will,  inflexible  of  purpose,  we  learn,  through 
the  charges  and  admissions  of  his  enemies.  To  these  charac- 
teristics join  the  fact  that  he  had  in  his  veins  the  hot  blood  of 
the  roving  Norsemen,  who  cut  Normandy  out  of  Gaul  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  the  Simple,  and  it  becomes  plain  to  the  most 
superficial  reader  of  men  that  La  Salle  had  the  qualities  and  tem- 
perament which  fitted  him  for  the  career  he  had  chosen. 

Yet  to  comprehend  the  multiform  individuality  of  so  complex 


THE  DISCOVERER  OF  THE  RIVER.  35 

a  nature,  something  more  than  a  mere  summary  of  qualities  is 
needed.  Any  sketch  of  La  Salle,  however  circumscribed,  would 
be  incomplete,  if  it  failed  to  note  the  seeming  transformation 
wrought  by  the  changed  circumstances  of  his  life. 

The  metamorphosis  of  Robert  Cavelier  into  La  Salle,  of  the 
Jesuit  no^'ice  into  the  man  of  action,  who  without  any  previous 
knowledge  of  business  from  his  first  start  in  Canada,  held  his 
own,  and  scored  success  after  success  in  his  career  as  an  Indian 
trader,  would  be  of  itself  a  marvel.  But  when  to  this  is  added  the 
revelation  of  another  and  totally  different  personage,  as  soon  as 
La  Salle  feels  his  foothold  secure,  when  the  man  of  business  is 
merged  into  the  enthusiastic  discoverer,  in  the  ambitious  aspirant 
for  immortality;  and  when,  through  a  magnificent  recklessness  of 
expenditure,  it  is  made  plain  that  gains  were  valued  only  as  a 
means  to  secure  an  end ;  then  it  becomes  necessary  to  turn  back 
the  leaves  and  make  a  study  of  the  surroundings,  the  tempera- 
ment, and  the  teaching  of  Robert  Cavelier,  that  we  may  under- 
stand La  Salle.  That  his  connections  were  people  of  large 
wealth,  for  that  age,  we  know.  That  his  immediate  family  were 
devout  Catholics  is  proved  by  the  entrance  of  two  sons  into  the 
priesthood.  Jean  Cavelier,  the  older  son,  a  priest  of  the  Order 
of  St.  Sulpice,  was  sent  to  Canada  by  the  superior  of  the  Sul- 
pitians  before  his  brother  left  the  Jesuit  Seminary.  That  Robert 
entered  the  seminary  when  very  young  is  probable ;  the  custom 
of  the  time,  and  his  proficiency  in  mathematics  and  the  physical 
sciences,  warrant  that  belief. 

Of  his  parents  we  know  but  little.  His  father  died  before  he 
left  the  Jesuit  Seminary ;  hints  that  faintly  outline  a  sketch  of 
his  mother  can  be  found  in  occasional  incidental  mention  of  her 
in  connection  with  business  transactions,  where  money  was  to 

3 


36  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

be  paid.  That  she  was  a  notable  manager  is  a  probabiUty  that 
can  be  confidently  counted  in  the  reckoning.  The  magnates  of 
the  Grande  Bourgeoisie  founded  their  fortunes  upon  close  econo- 
mies, and  in  French  mercantile  houses — then  as  now — a  man's 
wife  was  an  active  partner.  The  consideration  won,  and  the  po- 
sition held,  by  each  family  of  this  untitled  commercial  aristocracy, 
depended  largely  upon  personal  character  and  the  manner  in 
which  gains  were  made.  To  understand  this,  one  needs  to  re- 
member that  the  Gra?ide  Bourgeoisie  was  altogether  a  moneyed 
supplement  to  a  proud,  careless,  and  usually  embarrassed  nobility. 
Consequently,  to  the  mone^^ed  class,  placed  between  the  nobles 
and  the  people,  character  was  every  thing :  that  established  as 
the  permanent  distinction  of  a  family,  and  the  good  will  of  the 
priesthood  secured,  meant  security  of  position  and  certainty  of 
advancement  through  marriage  alliances.  It  is  therefore  easy  to 
divine  Madame  Cavelier's  position  as  an  autocrat  in  her  family, 
and  in  the  outer  world  an  austere  devote  securely  placed  upon  the 
pinnacle  of  commercial  greatness.  A  hint  that  assists  in  this 
outline  sketch  can  be  gleaned  from  the  respectful  ceremony 
observed  by  the  son  in  the  one  letter  to  her,  which  is  yet  in 
existence.  It  is  a  farewell  letter,  yet  there  is  no  spontaneity  of 
feeling  in  it.  Every  word  gives  evidence  that  attentive  observ- 
ance and  a  certain  courteous  phrasing  of  respectful  esteem  were 
more  acceptable  to  "  Madame  and  most  honored  mother,"  than 
frank  confidence  and  unstinted  expression  of  affection  would  have 
been.  From  this  letter  alone  it  is  made  plain  that  the  shy,  reti- 
cent, repressed  boy  had  been  "at  odds"  with  life  from  its  very 
beginning;  and  that  through  failure  to  understand  her  son, 
Madame  Cavelier's  influence  had  failed  to  bind  him  to  the  order 
in  which  he  had  been  placed. 


THE  DISCOVERER  OF  THE  RIVER.  37 

That  the  order  was  a  prominent  factor  in  forming  Robert 
Cavelier  is  beyond  question.  The  qualities  that  were  essentially 
his,  were  more  or  less  modified  by  Jesuit  moulding ;  in  fact,  it  is 
patent  that  their  training  changed  in  no  slight  degree  many 
chacteristics  of  the  novice,  who  afterwards  became  a  bitter  enemy 
of  the  society  he  had  quitted.  Fortunately  this  moulding  so 
shaped  and  adapted  the  subject-pupil  for  the  trying  future  he  was 
to  face,  that  through  its  very  compression  he  was  much  better 
fitted  to  deal  with  the  wary,  astute  savages  he  was  to  meet,  and 
with  the  demi-savages  who  followed  him  in  the  path  of  discovery. 

Through  the  history  of  his  after  life,  as  well  as  from  the 
reading  between  the  lines  in  the  brief  "  Family  Papers,"  there 
are  intimations — mere  suggestions  to  inform  judgment — that 
make  it  comparatively  easy  to  picture  the  boy  whose  enthusiasm 
was  fired,  though  its  outward  expression  was  restrained,  by  the 
thrilling  narratives  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  who  from  time  to  time 
stopped  at  the  seminary  on  their  way  to  or  from  Canada. 

These  missionaries  were  fanatical  lovers  of  their  order;  their 
ambition  for  its  success  was  utterly  devoid  of  personality ;  conse- 
quently that  ambition,  as  a  wide-spread  impersonal  flame,  was  all 
the  more  intense.  The  individual  was  lost  in  the  association ; 
and  it  is  impossible  to  overestimate  the  gain  to  the  association 
through  the  character  and  intelligence  merged  in  its  ranks. 

To  understand  the  special  importance  of  the  time  to  the 
Jesuits,  it  must  be  remembered  that  no  period  in  its  existence — 
up  to  that  date — had  been  so  fateful  to  the  Society  of  Jesus. 
Canada  had  been  the  scene  of  their  disastrous  defeat,  and  they 
were  resolved  that  upon  the  same  ground  a  final  victory  should 
be  won.  They  had  eager  rivals  in  the  field ;  other  orders  had 
gained  a  secure  foothold.     But  the  Society  of  Jesus  was  a  unit 


38  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

and  the  unit  could  resolve  itself  into  countless  soldiers.  Many- 
were  already  detached,  and  in  the  field.  Allouez  and  Marquette 
were,  even  then,  out  upon  the  extreme  border  of  the  colony,  at 
the  Gateway  of  the  Lakes,  beyond  which  stretched  the  unknown 
territory  of  the  New  World. 

How  fascinating  these  narratives  were  to  a  boy  in  whose 
heart  the  restless  Norman  current  throbbed  as  stories  of  battle 
and  of  conquest  were  told,  needs  no  strain  of  the  imagination  to 
understand.  Fuel  was  fed  to  fire  by  picturesque  descriptions  of 
newly  discovered  countries,  and  by  the  marvelous  accounts, 
which  had  been  gathered  from  the  Indians  and  from  escaped  or 
ransomed  captives,  of  the  vast  regions  yet  unexplored.  The 
Fathers  told  of  unnumbered  hosts  to  be  saved,  of  fierce  tribes  to 
be  conquered.  The  Cross  was  to  be  planted  above  the  broken 
idols  of  the  heathen,  and  a  great  empire  was  to  be  added  to 
France. 

The  dangers  told,  only  lent  a  new  charm  to  the  picture.  The 
realm  of  fancy  never  opened  to  any  young  enthusiast  such  rare 
attractions — such  a  wealth  of  wonders.  What  fire  there  must 
have  been  in  the  shining  eyes  when  he  knew  that  the  Spaniards 
had  not  exhausted  discovery !  Pizarro,  De  Soto,  Cortez  had  left 
no  successors  in  Spain.  Beyond  the  New  France  was  an  un- 
known continent  where  a  white  man's  foot  had  never  trod,  and 
through  its  mysterious  forests  a  great  river  flowed  westward  to 
the  Vermilion  Sea — a  highway  to  India,  to  China,  to  the  trade 
England  coveted,  and  the  glory  France  might  win. 

Moved  by  a  new  impulse,  young  Cavelier  threw  fresh  ardor 
into  his  daily  tasks.  Plutarch  had  taught  him  what  price  fortune 
puts  upon  her  favors.  He  knew  that  the  day  of  little  things  pre- 
ceded the  day  of  victory,  and  he  began  to  understand  that  to  win 


THE  DISCOVERER  OF  THE  RIVER.  39 

in  this  great  venture,  to  conquer  success,  he  must  be  master  of 
himself,  untrammeled  and  free.  Then  was  born  the  resolve  that 
the  general  of  no  order,  should  have  power  to  call  him  back 
when  the  way  opened,  and  his  foot  touched  the  threshold  of  dis- 
covery. The  teaching  of  the  Jesuits  gave  him  the  weapons  that 
won  his  freedom.  The  novice  was  released  from  his  novitiate. 
The  order  lost  a  priest,  whose  name  would  have  illumined  its 
annals,  the  world  added  a  new  name  to  the  list  of  discoverers 
and  heroes. 

Robert  Cavelier  shrinks  out  of  sight  as  the  seminary  door 
closes.  But  that  La  Salle  carried  to  Canada  a  bitter  remem- 
brance of  some  unhealed  wound  of  the  spirit,  is  put  in  evidence 
by  his  sudden  and  entire  estrangement  from  the  order  to  which 
he  had  been  partially  affiliated,  although  to  the  day  of  his  death 
he  was  a  devoted  Catholic  and  an  enthusiast  for  the  spread  of 
the  faith.  Just  here  is  the  problem  of  his  life  which  no  record 
yet  found  has  uifTeiled.  There  is  twice,  or  thrice,  mention  of 
a  purposed  marriage.  There  is  evidence  of  decided  opposition, 
and — nothing  more.  In  the  hands  of  a  novelist  the  construction 
of  fiction  might  define  the  truth  which  is  hidden  in  this  veiled 
chapter  in  the  life  of  La  Salle. 

That  part  of  his  life  which  has  to  do  with  our  narrative,  the 

story  of  the  discovery  of  the  Ohio,  will  be  given  in  extracts  from 

the  records,  which  have  been  preserved  in  France,  and  recently 

published  there : 

"  It  happened  that  an  Iroquois  chief,  Nitarikyk,  sent  a  captive  Ottawa  to 
Abb6  de  Queylus,  at  Montreal,  for  something  he  needed.  Being  questioned 
about  his  tribe,  which  dwelt  far  to  the  south-west,  the  captive  gave  such  a 
touching  picture  of  his  people,  and  such  an  interesting  description  of  his 
country,  that  the  Abb6  wrote  to  M.  DoUier,  a  Sulpitian  missionary,  who 
was  passing  the  Winter  with  Nitarikyk  to  learn  the  Algonquin  language. 


40  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

that  *  as  you  have  the  salvation  of  the  savages  at  heart,  God  has  here  given 
you  by  means  of  this  captive  an  excellent  opportunity  to  carry  the  cross  to 
nations  hitherto  unknown  to  the  French ;  and,  to  judge  from  this  Ottawa, 
these  tribes  are  as  docile  as  they  are  intelligent.'  M.  Dollier  accepted  the 
suggestion,  and  returned  to  make  his  preparation  for  the  enterprise,  and  to 
receive  from  the  Abbe  de  Queylus  the  necessary  orders. 

"  The  governor,  M.  de  Courcelles,  advised  him  to  take  with  him  M.  de 
la  Salle,  brother  of  P^re  Cavelier,  saying  'they  could  make  the  journey 
more  safely  together ;  that  M.  de  la  Salle  had  premeditated  for  a  long  time 
an  expedition  to  find  a  great  river,  which  he  believed,  from  the  accounts 
given  him  by  the  savages,  had  its  course  towards  the  west,  but  that  it  would 
take  seven  or  eight  months  to  get  there ;  that  the  savages  had  also  told  M. 
de  la  Salle  that  this  river  emptied  into  the  Vermilion  Sea ;  that  it  was  called 
in  the  language  of  the  Iroquois  Ohio ;  and  that  upon  its  banks  lived  a  great 
many  Indian  nations,  unknown  to  the  French,  but  so  numerous  that  many 
of  these  tribes  had  from  fifteen  to  twenty  villages.' 

"He  added  'that  the  expectation  of  collecting  beaver-skins,  and  the 
hope  which  he  placed  above  all  others,  to  find  the  passage  to  the  Vermilion 
Sea,  into  which  M.  de  la  Salle  believed  the  Ohio  emptied,  would  make  him 
very  glad  to  undertake  the  voyage,  that  he  might  find  through  this  sea  of 
the  South  a  passage  to  China.' 

"  M.  de  Courcelles  will  do  all  in  his  power  to  assist  La  Salle,  because 
*  this  discovery  will  be  a  glorious  gain  to  France ;  and,  besides,  it  will  cost 
the  government  nothing^  Governed  by  these  fixed  ideas,  M.  de  Courcelles 
sent  to  La  Salle  letters  patent  which  gave  him  permission  '  to  search  the 
woods,  the  rivers,  and  the  lakes  of  Canada,  to  find  the  head  of  this  river.' 
The  governor  also  recommended  him  to  the  governors  of  all  the  neighbor- 
ing provinces  with  whom  France  was  at  peace,  and  he  especially  requested 
the  governors  of  Virginia  and  Florida  to  permit  him  to  pass  through  any 
portion  of  their  domain,  and  to  give  him  such  assistance  as  he  should  need." 

The  better  to  assist  the  expedition  the  governor  recommends 
M.  Dollier  to  "  turn  your  zeal  towards  the  people  living  upon  the 
Ohio  River,  and  go  with  I^a  Salle."  Yet  considering  economy 
even  in  spreading  the  faith,  he  naively  adds :  "  M.  de  la  Salle  will 
make  the  arrangements  for  the  journey;  the  governor  can  only 


THE  DISCOVERER  OF  THE  RIVER.  41 

aid  by  giving  permission  to  take  with  them  as  guard  certain 
soldiers  who,  if  paid  and  provided  for,  are  wilHng  to  join  the 
expedition  as  volunteers." 

Having  completed  their  purchases  at  Quebec,  where  they 
bought  as  many  canoes  as  they  could  possibly  man,  and  having 
engaged  as  large  an  escort  as  I,a  Salle  could  provide  for,  M.  Dol- 
lier  and  M.  Barthelmy,  who  had  received  permission  from  the 
bishop  to  be  of  the  party,  reckoned  their  united  forces.  La  Salle 
had  five  canoes  and  fourteen  men,  while  DoUier  and  Barthelmy 
had  two  canoes  and  seven  men. 

They  were  ready  for  the  start,  and  about  to  leave,  when  sud- 
denly came  from  the  Abbe  de  Queylus  the  suggestion  that  I^a 
Salle  might  abandon  the  Church  party :  "All  know  his  humor  to 
be  changeable,  and  the  first  whim  might  influence  him  to  leave 
you,  and  that,  perhaps,  when  it  would  be  very  necessary  for  you 
to  have  some  one  who  understands  the  people,  and  the  situation 
of  the  country  through  which  you  must  return.  It  is  imprudent 
to  throw  yourselves  into  the  midst  of  unknown  dangers ;  and  at 
least  before  starting  you  should  have  some  assurance  as  to  the 
route  you  are  likely  to  take." 

The  following  is  the  Abbe  Gallinee's  account  of  the  ex- 
pedition : 

"  It  was  for  certain  considerations  that  the  Abb^  de  Queylus  permitted 
me  to  accompany  M,  Dollier  when  I  asked  his  permission.  First,  because  I 
could  be  useful,  on  account  of  my  knowledge  of  mathematics,  in  drawing 
maps  of  the  country  through  which  we  should  travel,  so  that  in  an  extremity 
the  party  could  find  their  way  back  without  a  guide ;  besides,  M.  Barthelmy, 
whose  place  I  took,  knew  thoroughly  the  Algonquin  language,  and  thus 
could  be  more  useful  as  interpreter  at  Montreal. 

"  I  had  three  days  in  which  to  make  my  arrangements.  I  took  two 
men  and  a  canoe,  with  sufficient  merchandise  to  buy  the  necessaries  to 


42  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

live  upon  from  the  tribes  we  should  meet,  and  I  was  ready  to  embark  as 
soon  as  the  others.  The  haste  with  which  my  preparations  were  made  left 
me  no  time  to  write  to  the  bishop  or  the  governor. 

"  Our  little  fleet  of  seven  canoes,  each  one  carrying  three  men,  left 
Montreal  July  6,  1669,  led  by  two  canoes  of  Iroquois  (Sonnontouans), 
who  had  come  to  Montreal  in  the  Autumn  of  1668  on  a  hunting  expedition, 
and  to  make  a  treaty.  These  people  had  lived  with  La  Salle  for  some 
months,*  and  had  told  him  such  marvels  of  the  Ohio  River  (which  they  said 
they  knew  perfectly),  that  he  was  more  than  ever  inflamed  with  the  desire 
to  see  it.  They  said  *  the  river  had  its  origin  only  three  days'  journey  from 
Sonnontouan,  and  that  after  a  month's  march  we  would  find  the  villages  of 
Honniasontkeronons  and  the  Chiouanons,  and  that  after  having  passed  those 
and  the  great  rapid  or  fall  which  is  in  the  river,  we  would  reach  the  Outa- 
game  and  the  country  of  the  Iskousogos,  and  in  that  abundant  country  deer 
and  buffalo  were  as  plenty  as  the  trees  of  the  wood,  while  the  villages  were 
thickly  inhabited.' 

*'  Iva  Salle  reported  these  things  to  M.  Dollier,  who  became  more  and 
more  anxious  to  save  the  poor  savages,  'who,  perhaps,  would  have  made 
good  use  of  the  Word  of  God  had  it  been  spoken  to  them.'  The  zeal  of  M. 
Dollier  prevented  his  remarking  that  La  Salle,  who  said  he  perfectly  under- 
stood the  Iroquois,  and  had  learned  all  these  things  through  his  knowledge 
of  their  language,  knew  absolutely  nothing  at  all  of  it,  and,  in  fact,  threw 
himself  headlong  into  the  enterprise  without  knowing  where  he  was  going. 
He  had  been  led  to  believe  he  could  find  at  the  village  of  the  Sonnontouans 
captives  from  the  southern  tribes,  who  would  serve  for  guides.  I  had  been 
studying  Algonquin,  but  it  would  have  been  very  much  better  if  I  had 
known  more  of  the  Iroquois  than  I  knew  of  Algonquin.  The  only  inter- 
preter I  had  been  able  to  find  was  a  Holland  Dutchman,  who  knew  Iroquois 
perfectly,  but  unfortunately  knew  very  little  French ;  but  not  being  able  to 
find  any  one  else,  I  took  him.  M.  Dollier  and  I  had  intended  to  pass  by 
Kent4,  to  speak  with  our  own  people  who  were  there  in  the  mission,  but 
our  guides  were  going  to  the  village  of  Sonnontouan,  and  we  dared  not  quit 
them  for  fear  we  should  find  no  others." 

M.  Gallinee  continues  the  story,  and  tells  how  they  ascended 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  reached  Lake  Ontario  on  the  2d  of  Au- 

*  Note  No.  A,  in  Appendix. 


THE  DISCOVERER  OF  THE  RIVER.  43 

gust,  and  describes  the  beautiful  country  along  the  rivers  which 
empty  into  this  lake ;  and  he  also  tells  the  fact,  that  "  it  is  by  this 
path  the  Jesuits  go  to  their  missions  among  the  Iroquois,  for  it  is 
upon  the  Onnantague  that  they  have  made  their  principal  estab- 
lishments; this  and  other  rivers  which  empty  into  Ontario,  are 
the  highways  that  lead  to  the  Iroquois  country." 
August  8th,  they  arrived  at  an  island — 

"  Where  a  Sonnontouan  chief  has  built  him  a  secluded  country  house  so 
well  hidden  that  a  passer-by,  without  knowing  the  spot,  could  not  find  it — a 
very  necessary  prudence,  as  here  in  the  midst  of  the  waters  he  is  also  in 
the  midst  of  his  enemies.  He  received  us  cordially,  and  made  us  welcome 
to  a  great  feast  of  stewed  pumpkin  and  roast  dog.  Our  guide  advised  us  to 
stay  here  until  he  should  go  to  the  village  and  give  notice  of  our  coming. 
We  were  not  sure  of  our  lives  among  these  people,  and  we  thought  it  best  to 
take  his  advice.  Peace  had  been  made  but  a  very  short  time,  a  peace  with 
which  some  of  the  tribe  were  dissatisfied;  and,  as  their  chiefs  are  not  sover- 
eigns, it  was  only  necessary  that  some  young  warrior,  who  was  displeased  at 
the  peace,  and  who  remembered  the  relations  he  had  lost  in  the  war  just  ended, 
would  be  glad  to  do  something  which  would  break  the  treaty  made  by  the 
older  chiefs.  Besides  this,  a  still  more  serious  reason  for  precaution  can  be 
given,  from  an  occurrence  which  took  place  about  two  weeks  before  our  de- 
parture from  Montreal.  Three  soldiers  who  were  in  the  garrison  there 
found  that  some  Indians  had  a  stock  of  valuable  furs,  and  they  assassinated 
the  savages  to  get  them.  Happily  for  us,  the  crime  was  discovered  five  or 
six  days  before  our  departure,  the  guilt  of  the  criminals  was  fully  proven, 
and  they  were  shot  in  the  presence  of  many  Indians  who  happened  to  be  at 
the  fort  at  the  time.  The  Indians  professed  to  be  perfectly  satisfied  with  this 
speedy  execution  of  justice;  however,  we  knew  that  though  the  nation  was 
appeased,  the  relatives  might  not  be  willing  to  forego  their  law  of  retaliation." 

After  some  humane  reflections,  in  which  the  feeling  of  distrust 

was  evidently  intensified  by  his  own  position  in  the  Indian  village, 

the  Abbe  goes  on  to  say : 

"  I  can  assure  you  that  a  person  who  finds  himself  in  the  midst  of  all 
these  fears,  with  the  added  alternative  of  death  by  famine  in  the  depth  of 


44  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

the  forest,  yet  who  believes  he  is  there  by  the  will  of  God,  and  that  his  suf- 
ferings may  be  the  salvation  of  these  poor  savages,  realizes  a  certain  joy 
even  in  all  these  pains. 

"  M.  Dollier,  though  sick  of  a  fever  that  bid  fair  to  carry  him  off,  said : 
*  I  prefer  to  die  in  the  midst  of  this  forest,  if  it  be  the  will  of  God,  which  I 
believe  it  is,  than  in  the  midst  of  my  brothers  in  the  seminary.' "  ^ 

Notwithstanding  this  beautiful  resignation,  M.  Dollier  soon  re- 
covered, and  the  journey  was  continued  until  they  arrived  at  the 
mouth  of  a  little  river,  which  emptied  its  waters  into  the  lake  not 
far  from  the  village  of  Sonnontouan.  Here  they  were  "  visited 
by  a  number  of  Indian  chiefs,  accompanied  by  women  laden  with 
presents  of  wild  rice  and  fruit ;  in  return  we  gave  them  knives, 
needles,  and  other  things  which  they  valued." 

The  Abbe  continues : 

"  After  a  consultation  among  ourselves  it  was  decided  that  I  should  go 
to  the  village  with  M.  de  la  Salle  to  see  if  we  could  purchase  a  captive  to 
guide  us  to  the  famous  river  M.  de  la  Salle  had  started  to  find.  We  took 
with  us  eight  of  our  Frenchmen,  leaving  the  rest  of  our  force  with  M.  Dol- 
lier to  guard  the  canoes.  When  near  the  village  we  found  a  troop  of  old 
men  seated  on  the  ground  by  the  wayside,  and  they  had  left  us  a  very  com- 
fortable seat  in  front  of  them.  An  old  chief,  who  was  almost  blind,  and 
who  could  hardly  sustain  his  weight  with  the  assistance  of  a  staff,  stood  up 
and  made  us  a  very  animated  harangue,  in  which  he  testified  to  his  joy  at 
our  arrival,  and  that  we  must  regard  the  Sonnantouans  as  brothers,  and 
that  as  brothers  he  insisted  upon  our  coming  to  his  village,  where  a  lodge 
was  ready  for  us,  and  where  all  waited  to  know  our  wishes.  We  thanked 
him  through  the  interpreter,  and  said  the  next  day  we  would  tell  his  people 
the  cause  of  our  journey.  After  this  exchange  of  courtesies  they  conducted 
us  to  our  lodging,  and  strict  orders  were  given  to  the  women  to  let  us  want 
for  nothing.  All  that  evening  and  the  next  morning  we  saw  constantly 
arriving  chiefs  who  were  coming  to  the  council,  and  the  next  day  (August 
13th)  we  received  in  the  lodge  from  fifty  to  sixty  of  the  head  men  of  the 
nation.  When  the  parley  was  about  to  begin,  for  the  first  time  M.  de  la 
Salle  admitted  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  make  himself  understood, 


THE  DISCOVERER  OF  THE  RIVER.  45 

and  it  was  very  CNndent  that  my  Dutch  interpreter  did  not  know  enough 
French  to  make  us  understand  what  the  chiefs  were  saying.  In  this  ex- 
tremity we  found  in  our  party  a  man  who  had  been  for  some  time  with  the 
Jesuits  among  the  Five  Nations,  and  tiiere  was  nothing  left  for  us  to  do  but 
to  avail  unrselves  of  such  knowledge  as  he  had.  Fortunately  our  presents 
could  speak  for  themselves.  Our  first  gift  to  the  head  chief  was  a  very  hand- 
some double-barreled  pistol,  with  the  declaration  that  we  regarded  the  Iro- 
quois as  brothers,  and  with  this  pistol  he  would  have  one  barrel  for  the 
Loups  and  the  other  for  the  Andostoues.  After  a  general  distribution  of 
presents,  we  declared  that  we  were  sent  on  the  part  of  the  governor  to  visit 
the  tribes  living  upon  the  Ohio,  and  that  we  wished  our  brothers  the  Iro- 
quois to  give  us  a  captive  as  a  guide.  The  chiefs  answered  that  it  was 
necessarj'  to  think  of  this  proposition,  and  they  would  give  us  a  reply  on 
the  next  day.  The  following  morning  they  came  early,  and  after  distrib- 
uting among  us  numerous  presents  of  beaded  work,  they  came  to  the  ques- 
tion of  the  captive.  They  said  they  would  give  us  such  a  guide,  but  begged 
us  to  wait  until  their  people,  who  had  gone  to  make  a  treaty  with  the  Hol- 
land Dutch  in  New  York,  and  who  were  now  on  their  homeward  journey, 
should  arrive  at  the  village.  We  agreed  to  wait  eight  days  longer,  excusing 
ourselves  for  the  limited  time,  as  the  season  was  passing  in  which  we  ought 
to  make  the  journey." 

After  having  suffered  no  little  from  the  savage  messes  he  was 
forced  through  politeness  to  eat  during  the  time  of  waiting  for 
the  return  of  the  chiefs  and  the  gift  of  the  promised  captive,  the 
Abbe  concluded  to  stay  his  stomach  and  divert  his  mind  by  mak- 
ing a  trip  with  La  Salle  and  two  of  his  Indian  friends  to  see  an 
extraordinary  fountain  in  a  neighboring  village.  This  fountain 
was  formed  from  a  little  rivulet  that  fell  from  a  high  and  broken 
rock  in  a  considerable  stream  into  a  round  basin.  We  let  the 
father  describe  the  spring  in  his  own  words,  also  the  arrival  of 
the  absent  chiefs : 

"  The  water  is  very  clear,  but  it  has  a  horrible  odour,  something  like  the 
mud  of  Paris  when  stirred  with  the  foot.  If  you  touch  the  spring  with  a 
flame  it  lights  up  as  if  it  were  brandy  burning,  and  it  is  never  extinguished 


#6  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

until  the  rain  begins  to  fall.  This  flame  is  regarded  by  the  savages  as  a 
mark  of  abundance  or  sterility,  according  to  its  varying  appearance.  The 
water  has  no  peculiarly  bad  taste. 

"While  we  were  gone  to  see  the  fountain  the  chiefs  returned,  and 
among  them  were  several  relations  of  one  of  the  men  who  had  been  killed 
at  Montreal,  and  as  they  were  drinking  a  good  deal  of  the  Holland  gin 
which  they  had  brought  back,  and  did  not  seem  to  weep  so  much  for  their 
relation  as  they  seemed  determined  to  revenge  his  death,  our  position  was 
neither  safe  nor  pleasant. 

"  At  that  time  I  saw  the  most  miserable  spectacle  I  have  ever  beheld  in 
my  life.  The  chiefs  had  captured  on  their  way  back  and  brought  with  them 
a  prisoner,  a  young  boy  eighteen  or  twenty  years  old.  At  the  entrance  of 
the  village  they  made  him  run  the  gauntlet,  but  as  nothing  more  was  then 
threatened  M.  de  la  Salle  thought  they  would  give  him  to  us;  this  we  de- 
sired because  he  lived  near  the  Ohio.  I  asked  the  interpreter  to  speak  to 
the  Iroquois,  but  he  soon  told  me  the  prisoner  belonged  to  an  old  woman 
whose  son  had  been  killed,  and  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  us  to  pre- 
vent his  death.  I  insisted,  offering  to  pay  any  ransom  asked ;  but  the  in- 
terpreter still  refused  to  make  the  request,  saying  it  would  only  place  him- 
self and  us  in  danger,  as  the  woman  was  related  to  the  leading  chiefs,  and 
this  Indian  custom  of  expiation  was  one  that  even  a  chief  dared  not  break." 

The  horrible  details  of  the  execution  need  not  be  given,  but 
the  reader  can  imagine  what  effect  the  tortures  they  witnessed 
had  upon  the  party.     M.  Gallinee  concludes  his  story  thus : 

"  If  I  had  known  that  they  intended  to  kill  him,  I  would  have  assuredly 
baptized  him,  because  then  I  should  have  had  the  night  in  which  to  instruct 
him ;  but  when  the  knowledge  suddenly  came  a  few  moments  before  his 
sufferings  began,  I  could  only  encourage  him  to  bear  it  patiently  and  to  offer 
his  torments  to  God.  I  succeeded  in  making  him  understand  better  than 
I  had  hoped,  because  he  knew  the  Algonquin  tongue,  which  I  could  speak, 
and  he  said  after  me,  and  continued  to  repeat  it  during  his  sufferings :  '  Thou 
who  hast  made  all,  have  pity  upon  me.' 

"  I  could  only  retire  to  our  lodge  full  of  grief  that  I  could  not  save  this 
poor  captive,  and  better  than  ever  I  understood  that  it  was  wiser  for  me  not 
to  go  among  these  nations  without  understanding  their  language,  or  being 


THE  DISCOVERER  OF  THE  RIVER.  47 

assured  of  an  interpreter.  M.  de  la  Salle  came  in  to  say  the  excitement  in 
the  village  made  him  apprehend  further  trouble.  Many  of  the  Indians 
were  drunk,  and  they  might  insult  us  in  such  a  manner  that  we  should  be 
forced  into  a  difficulty  with  them,  and  that  it  would  be  better  to  return  to 
the  canoes,  and  to  wait  there  with  the  rest  of  our  people  until  the  Indians 
became  calm  and  sober.  This  good  advice  was  acted  upon,  and  we  went  to 
rejoin  M.  Dollier,  about  six  leagues  from  the  village.    .    .    . 

"  During  our  stay  in  the  village  we  had  made  many  inquiries  as  to  the 
route  we  should  follow  to  arrive  at  the  Ohio  River,  and  everj-  one  had  told 
us  that  by  going  in  the  canoes  to  the  next  lake  we  could  land  at  a  spot 
only  three  days'  march  from  the  head-waters  of  the  river.  The  Indians  had 
told  our  interpreter  frightful  stories  of  the  tribes  we  would  meet,  sajnng 
when  we  reached  the  Ohio  we  would  encounter  a  people  who  would  cer- 
tainly put  us  to  death,  and  for  that  reason  they  had  not  given  us  a  guide, 
for  fear  the  governor  would  hold  them  responsible  for  what  might  happen 
to  us.     It  was  easy  to  see  the  interpreter  was  too  frightened  to  be  of  any  use. 

"  When  our  neighbors  \'isited  us  after  their  fearful  orgy-  was  over,  they 
put  off  the  subject  of  a  guide  from  day  to  day,  and  we  saw  we  were  losing 
the  favorable  season,  and  were  uncertain  as  to  where  we  could  pass  the 
winter.  M.  de  la  Salle  said  our  death  was  assured  if  we  should  attempt  to 
winter  in  the  woods.  We  were  relieved  of  this  uneasiness  by  the  arrival  of 
one  of  the  chiefs,  who  had  returned  from  the  council  with  the  Dutch  in 
New  Holland.  This  Indian  assured  us  there  should  be  no  difficulty  about 
a  guide ;  that  he  had  captives  from  the  different  tribes  where  we  desired  to 
go,  and  he  himself  would  verj-  willingly  go  with  us.  Led  by  this  hope,  we 
quitted  the  Sonnontouans. 

*'  Our  guide  took  us  to  a  river  an  eighth  of  a  league  in  width,  and  ex- 
tremely rapid,  which  brings  the  waters  of  the  upper  lakes  into  Lake  Ontario. 
The  depth  of  this  river  is  something  prodigious  below  where  it  falls  from 
the  upper  lake  through  the  grandest  cataract  in  the  world.  The  haste 
we  were  in  to  get  to  our  landing  place  prevented  our  taking  time  to  see 
this  marvel.  We  had  to  make  our  portage  from  near  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  some  distance  from  the  cataract,  by  a  path  the  Indians  knew,  which 
led  us  around  and  above  the  rapids  through  which  the  waters  pass  before 
they  fall  over  the  cataract. 

"While  waiting  at  the  little  village  below  this  place,  where  all  the 
people  were  engaged  to  carry  our  baggage,  M.  de  la  Salle  returned  from  a 


48  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

hunt,  bringing  back  a  severe  attack  of  fever,  which  in  a  few  days  brought 
him  very  low. 

"  After  three  days  of  waiting,  all  the  leading  men  of  the  village  came 
to  see  us.  At  this  council  our  Dutchman  was  of  more  use  as  an  interpreter 
than  he  had  been  at  the  larger  village  of  the  Sonnontouans.  There  was 
another  exchange  of  presents,  and  two  captives  were  given  us  as  guides, 
one  of  the  tribe  of  the  Chiouanons,  the  other  of  the  Nez-Perc6s.  The 
Chiouanon  fell  to  M.  de  la  Salle,  and  the  other  to  us.  i? 

"  We  left  this  place  with  more  than  fifty  savages  and  savagesses,  and  it 
took  us  two  days  to  reach  the  end  of  the  portage  where  our  baggage  was 
waiting.  Here  we  learned  that  two  Frenchmen  were  at  the  village  to  which 
we  were  going,  who  had  come  from  the  land  of  the  Outaouacs,  and  on  arriv- 
ing at  our  destination  on  the  24th  September,  we  found  Sieur  Jolliet,  who 
had  arrived  the  day  before  on  his  return  from  Lake  Superior,  where  he  had 
been  sent  by  the  governor  to  examine  the  newly  discovered  copper-mines. 

"  The  illness  of  M.  de  la  Salle  had  begun  to  take  away  his  desire  to  go 
on  to  the  Ohio,  and  now  he  began  to  be  equally  anxious  to  return  to  Mon- 
treal. The  representations  of  Sieur  Jolliet  determined  -us  to  change  our 
route,  and  visit  the  missions  on  the  Superior,  while  M.  de  la  Salle  said  the 
state  of  his  health  did  not  permit  him  to  think  of  the  journey  to  Lake' 
Superior,  and  he  begged  us  to  excuse  him  for  abandoning  us  on  the  way.'* 

That  the  Abbe  Gallinee  did  not  understand  La  Salle  is  evi- 
dent from  the  mention  he  makes  of  his  illness,  "caused  by  fright 
at  meeting  three  rattlesnakes  in  the  path." 

M.  Dollier,  an  ex-soldier,  brought  up  in  the  school  of  Tu- 
renne,  was  a  much  better  judge  of  the  metal  of  the  young  com- 
rade, who  courteously  pleaded  the  state  of  his  health  as  a  reason 
for  turning  back  when  the  Abbe  and  M.  Dollier  changed  their 
plan  of  going  to  the  Ohio,  and  decided  to  visit  the  missions  on  the 
the  upper  lakes.  La  Salle's  excuses  made  ("fine  words,"  Dollier 
calls  them),  he  left  the  two  priests  and  their  followers  on  the  north 
side  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  returned  either  to  the  Indian  villages 
or  to  the  south  side  of  Niagara  River,  and  continued  his  way 


THE  DISCOVERER  OF  THE  RIVER.  49 

thence  to  the  Ohio.  There  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  route  he  fol- 
lowed, but  none  as  to  his  determined  purpose  and  its  accomplish- 
ment. Unfortunately,  the  papers  and  maps  which  record  the 
journey,  and  illustrate  the  course  pursued,  and  which  were  in 
the  possession  of  his  niece  in  1756,  were  lost  in  the  later  years 
of  that  stormy  centur>\ 

A  Memoir  of  La  Salle,  written  by  one  of  his  contemporaries 
(supposed  to  be  the  Abb^  Renaudot),  gives  a  condensed  sketch 
of  the  trip,  as  La  Salle  told  it  to  the  writer;  it  is  geographically 
correct  and  indisputably  true,  and  therefore  is  added  herewith : — 

"  M.  de  la  Salle  went  back  to  the  Indian  village,  and  from  thence  started 
anew  to  find  the  Ohio.  The  Indians  guided  him  across  by  easy  portages  to 
the  head- waters  of  the  Ohio ;  after  reaching  that  river  he  pursued  his  jour- 
ney westward  until  he  came  to  the  rapids,  which  end  in  a  low  swampy  coun- 
try. Here  he  was  constrained  to  land ;  leaving  the  river  for  the  higher 
ridges  (on  the  northern  bank)  he  found  an  Indian-hunting  camp.  These 
Indians  told  him  that  some  distance  below  the  river,  which  here  seemed  to 
have  lost  itself  in  little  rivnilets  that  wandered  about  through  the  vast  ex- 
tent of  forest-covered  marshes,  reunited  its  waters  in  a  great  stream.  This 
decided  him  to  continue  his  journey  by  land ;  but  that  night  his  followers 
deserted  him,  and,  regaining  the  river  above  the  rapids,  went  back. 

"Finding  himself  alone  (except  for  one  or  two  faithful  Indians),  and 
over  four  hundred  leagues  from  Montreal,  he  could  do  nothing,  but  return." 

The  official  records  of  The  Discovery  of  the  River  yet 
rest  in  the  French  Archives,  and  are  shown  in  three  or  four 
documents  which  are  reproduced  in  M.  Margry's  late  work. 

First.  There  is  a  petition  to  the  king  ("Demande  du  Privi- 
lege"), asking  certain  concessions  in  recognition  of  his  discov- 
eries south  of  the  lakes,  and  especially  of  the  Ohio  River. 

Second.  There  are  the  official  maps,  made  (by  his  rivals)  in 
1673  and  the  years  immediately  following,  which  show  the  course 
of  the  Ohio,  and  in  each  the  discovery  is  credited  to  La  Salle. 


50  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

Third.  There  are  several  dispatches  to  the  king  and  to  Col- 
bert from  the  governor-general  and  intendant  of  Canada,  in 
which  mention  is  made  of  "  these  discoveries  of  Le  Sieur  de  la 
Salle,  of  various  countries  and  rivers  south  of  the  lakes;"  and  in 
each  something  is  said  of  **the  Beautiful  River,"  which  is  called 
''The  Ohio,"  '' the  Bright  River,"  "the  Shining  River,"  and 
*'  the  Deep  Shining  River." 

Foiirth.  In  consideration  of  his  discoveries,  the  king  grants 
him  a  patent  of  nobility,  creating  him  a  knight,  and  making  him 
governor  of  Fort  Frontenac. 

An  extract  from  one  of  these  documents,  in  which  La  Salle 
speaks  of  himself  in  the  third  person,  and  the  record  ends : — 

"  In  1667,  and  the  following  years,  he  made  many  journeys — at  great 
expense— in  which  he  was  the  first  discoverer  of  the  country  south  of  the 
Great  Lakes,  and  among  other  rivers,  the  Ohio.  He  followed  its  current  to 
the  rapids,  where,  after  having  been  increased  by  a  large  river  coming  from 
the  north,  it  spreads  over  wide  swampy  lowlands ;  and  there  is  every  indi- 
cation that  these  collected  waters  find  their  way  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico." 

The  other  documents  relating  to  La  Salle  in  this  new  revela- 
tion of  history  belong  to  the  records  of  the  Mississippi. 


Cy^PTEF  III. 

FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  CONTEST  FOR  THE  OHIO. 

THE  French,  by  right  of  La  Salle's  discovery,  laid  claim  to  the 
whole  stretch  of  country  from  the  great  lakes  to  the  Ohio, 
while  England  declared  the  territory  to  be  hers,  and  had  included 
it  in  her  grant  to  the  colony  of  Virginia.  Each  contestant  had 
allies  among  the  Indians,  who,  however,  were  from  time  to  time 
easily  influenced  to  desert  the  one  and  aid  the  other. 

Toward  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  white  set- 
tlements in  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  were  reaching  out  to 
and  extending  over  the  mountain  chain.  Hunters  and  traders, 
the  early  pioneers  of  civilization,  had  brought  back  to  the  settle- 
ments upon  every  return  from  the  Indian  country  highly  colored 
reports  of  the  richness  of  the  Western  mountain  glades,  and  of 
^  the  beauty  and  importance  of  the  mountain  streams,  which  they 
had  already  begun  to  connect  with  the  stories  that  had  come 
from  the  far  South  of  the  mystic  and  mighty  Mississippi. 

At  this  juncture  Thomas  Lee,  one  of  the  cduncil  of  Virginia, 
organized  a  syndicate  of  London  merchants,  which  was  called 
The  Ohio  Company.*  The  object  of  the  syndicate  w^s  to  settle 
the  wild  lands  south  and  west  of  the  Ohio,  and  secure  as  large  a 
part  as  possible  of  Indian  trade  from  the  French.  This  grant  em- 
braced a  large  area  on  the  south  of  the  Ohio,  between  the  Mo- 
nongahela  and  Kanawha  Rivers,  with  the  further  privilege  of 
taking  such  lands  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  as  should  sub- 
sequently  be    deemed   expedient.     This   territory  was   exempt 

*  Appendix  A,  No.  II.  53 


54  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

from  taxation  on  condition  of  its  being  taken  up  by  actual  set- 
tlers within  a  limited  time,  and  also  that  the  company  should 
build  a  fort  and  sustain  a  garrison  for  their  protection.  To  gain 
the  good-will  of  the  Indians  a  treaty  was  proposed,  and  that  no 
time  might  be  lost  the  company  resolved  to  open  roads  from  the 
head-waters  of  the  Potomac  to  some  convenient  point  on  the 
Monongahela. 

That  Pennsylvania  wight  not  be  distanced  in  the  race,  the 
proprietary  government  through  Andrew  Palmer,  president  of 
the  council,  gave  instructions,  January  23,  1748,  to  their  agent  to 
use  his  utmost  diligence  to  visit  all  the  neighboring  tribes,  and 
learn  their  numbers,  strength,  and  disposition  toward  the  colony. 
Their  agent,  Weiser,  had  one  eminent  advantage  over  his  com- 
peers ;  he  knew  perfectly  the  language  of  the  people  with  whom 
he  was  empowered  to  open  negotiations.  He  immediately  started 
West,  and  received  invaluable  aid  from  George  Crogan,  a  trader 
and  agent  of  the  proprietary  council,  who  was  already  settled  on 
Beaver  Creek,  a  few  miles  from  its  junction  with  the  Ohio. 

Unhappily  neither  the  government  of  Pennsylvania  nor  the 
attempts  of  the  Ohio  Company,  under  the  patronage  of  the  coun- 
cil of  Virginia,  succeeded  in  conciliating  the  disaffected  Indians, 
or  in  dividing  them  from  the  French,  who  had  already  begun  to 
build  a  line  of  forts  from  their  settlements  in  Canada  to  the  outlet 
of  the  Mississippi  below  New  Orleans.  Their  northern  forts 
were  situated  at  Presque  Isle  on  Lake  Erie,  at  Le  Boeuf,  and  at 
Venango.  The  building  of  these  forts  so  aroused  the  spirit  of 
the  English  that  Governor  Dinwiddie,  of  Virginia,  sent  Washing- 
ton to  the  French  commander  at  Le  Boeuf  to  demand  his  "  rea- 
sons for  invading  English  territory  in  time  of  peace."  On  No- 
vember 22,  1753,  the  "young  envoy"  reached  Frazier's,  at  the 


CONTEST  FOR  THE  OHIO.  55 

mouth  of  Turtle  Creek ;  from  thence  he  continued  his  route  by 
way  of  Hill's  Creek  to  Shannopin's,  an  old  Indian  town  on  the 
Allegheny,  about  two  miles  above  its  union  with  the  Monon- 
gahela.  He  examined  the  position  at  the  junction  of  the  afflu- 
ents forming  the  Ohio,  and  reported  the  point  as  favorable  for  a 
fortification.  At  Logstown  he  called  together  a  council  of  In- 
dians, and  although  he  gained  the  information  he  sought  relative 
to  the  French  garrisons  and  numbers,  he  was  constantly  thwarted 
by  the  influence  the  French  had  gained  over  the  Indians.  He 
proceeded  to  Le  Boeuf,  where  he  delivered  his  dispatches  to  the 
French  commander,  who  in  reply  to  the  message  from  the  gov- 
ernor of  Virginia  said  that  "it  was  not  in  his  province  to  specify 
the  evidence  and  demonstrate  the  right  of  the  king,  his  master, 
to  the  lands  situated  on  the  Ohio,  but  he  would  transmit  the  let- 
ter to  the  Marquis  du  Quesne,  and  act  according  to  the  answer  he 
should  receive  from  that  nobleman."*  He  did  not  hesitate  to 
declare,  however,  that  in  the  meantime  he  should  "  hold  all  the 
land  claimed  through  the  discovery  of  I<a  Salle."  With  this  un- 
qualified statement,  Washington  set  out  on  his  return,  encoun- 
tering on  the  way  many  hardships  and  perils.  Much  of  the 
journey  from  Venango  was  made  on  foot  with  a  single  com- 
panion. Once  he  barely  escaped  death  by  drowning;  again  he 
was  shot  at  by  an  Indian,  at  a  distance  of  but  fifteen  paces,  yet 
received  no  injur>\  Although  impatient  at  every  delay,  he  spent 
a  whole  day,  with  the  aid  of  a  poor  hatchet,  in  constructing  a 
rude  raft  on  which  to  cross  the  Allegheny;  but  he  soon  found 
himself  blocked  in  the  ice,  and  unable  to  proceed  until  the  river 
was  completely  frozen  over.     Rapid  progress  at  such  a  season 


*The  letter  from  the  governor  of  Virginia  required  the  French  to  withdraw  from  the 
dominions  of  Great  Britain. 


56  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

was  impossible ;  but  at  last  he  arrived  with  his  dispatches  safe  in 
Williamsburg. 

In  spite  of  ill  reports  brought  by  Washington  from  their 
western  domains,  the  Ohio  Company  decided  to  strengthen  their 
position  in  the  west.  They  had  one  block-house  at  Redstone 
(now  Brownsville),  and  they  determined  to  take  and  hold  per- 
manent posession  of  the  entire  country  named  in  their  grant. 
In  February,  1754,  they  sent  a  re-enforcement  and  began  the 
foundation  of  a  redoubt  where  Pittsburg  now  stands.  Before  the 
work  was  finished  Contrecceur,  a  French  officer,  with  one  thou- 
sand French  and  Indians,  and  eighteen  pieces  of  cannon,  arrived 
from  Venango,  and  compelled  the  surrender  of  the  post,  which 
they  fortified  and  named  Fort  Duquesne,  after  the  governor  of 
Canada.  They  loaded  their  Indian  allies  with  presents  of  guns, 
ammunition,  blankets,  and  beads,  and  the  joy  of  conquest  com- 
pleted the  alienation  of  the  Indians  from  the  English,  and  the 
treaty  of  1754  was  made. 

On  his  return  from  the  French  forts  Washington  had  been 
placed  in  command  of  an  expedition  to  aid  in  completing  the  re- 
doubt begun  by  his  advice.  En  route  for  this  point  he  had 
reached  Will's  Creek  (afterwards  Fort  Cumberland),  when  he 
learned  of  Contrecoeur's  descent  upon  the  redoubt.  Nothing 
daunted,  he  wrote  to  the  governor  for  re-enforcements,  and  deter- 
mined to  push  on  to  the  Monongahela.  His  plan  was  to  wait 
at  Redstone  for  Colonel  Fry's  troops  on  their  retreat  from 
the  lost  position,  then  drop  down  the  river  and  attack  the 
French.  But  he  had  not  accomplished  more  than  fifty  miles 
through  this  rough  country  when  he  was  apprised  by  a  dispatch 
from  the  half-king*  of  the  approach   of  the  enemy.     He  was 


'•'  A  title  given  to  one  of  the  Shawnee  chiefs. 


CONTEST  FOR  THE  OHIO.  57 

encamped  at  Great  Meadows,  where  he  now  determined  to  intrench 
himself.  After  sending  out  reconnoitering  parties,  who  failed  to 
discover  any  trace  of  the  French,  Washington,  with  forty  men,  set 
out  at  nine  o'clock  on  a  dark  and  rainy  night,  and  by  difficult  and 
toilsome  paths,  reached  the  half-king's  camp  at  sunrise.  His 
Indian  ally  knew  where  the  tracks  of  the  French  had  been  seen, 
and  consented  to  send  two  of  his  people  to  follow  these  tracks 
to  the  lurking-place  of  the  enemy,  while  expressing  his  willing- 
ness to  go  hand  in  hand  with  his  brother,  as  he  called  Washing- 
ton, to  strike  the  French.  The  result  was  an  engagement  of 
about  fifteen  minutes,  in  which  the  French  were  defeated. 
Their  party  had  come  as  spies,  but  pretended  to  have  been  sent 
with  a  communication  to  Washington,  who,  however,  was  not 
deluded  by  the  excuse.  Sending  his  prisoners,  twenty-one  in 
number,  to  Governor  Dinwiddie,  at  Williamsburg,  he  prepared 
for  the  attack  which  he  had  good  reason  to  expect,  and  Fort 
Necessity*  was  hastily  strengthened.  On  the  3d  of  July  it 
was  attacked  by  seven  hundred  French  and  Indians.  The  fight 
lasted  for  nine  hours.  The  courage  of  the  raw  provincials  and 
the  coolness  of  their  young  leader  enabled  them  to  hold  the  po- 
sition against  greatly  superior  numbers.  The  French  com- 
mander, De  Villiers,  sent  in  a  flag  of  truce,  offering  terms  of 
capitulation,  which  were  accepted.  The  English  withdrew  from 
their  only  foothold  upon  the  Ohio ;  and  the  Beautiful  River,  to- 
gether with  the  entire  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  was  left  to  the 
French  and  their  Indian  allies. 

The  next  effort  to  regain  Fort  Duquesne  was  part  of  the 
well  planned  and  badly  executed  campaign  of  1755.     A  large 


*Fort  Necessity  was  eight  miles  from  Uniontown,  on  the  Youghioghenv.  and  about 
fifty  miles  from  Cumberland. 


58  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

and  well-disciplined  army,  under  General  Braddock,  was  to  storm 
the  fort,  and  wrest  the  Ohio  Valley  from  the  French. 

"After  taking  Fort  Duquesne,"  Braddock  said  to  Franklin,  "I 
am  to  proceed  to  Niagara,  and  having  taken  that,  to  Frontenac. 
Duquesne  can  hardly  detain  me  more  than  three  or  four  days,  and 
then  I  can  see  nothing  that  can  obstruct  my  march  to  Niagara." 

"The  Indians  are  dexterous  in  laying  and  executing  ambus- 
cades," suggested  Franklin. 

"The  savages  may  be  formidable  to  your  raw  American 
militia;  upon  the  king's  regular  and  well-disciplined  troops  it  is 
impossible  they  should  make  any  impression,"  replied  the 
British  general. 

After  numerous  delays,  Braddock  succeeded  in  marching  his 
army  across  the  mountains  to  within  ten  miles  of  Fort  Duquesne. 
The  French,  aware  of  his  approach,  with  the  aid  of  the  Indians 
sallied  forth  to  prepare  an  ambuscade.  They  unexpectedly  found 
themselves  in  the  presence  of  the  English,  and  instantly  began 
an  attack,  which  lasted  for  two  hours,  and  resulted  most  disas- 
trously for  Braddock' s  regulars,  who  were  terrified  by  the  yells 
of  the  Indians,  and  utterly  demoralized  from  the  first.  Wash- 
ington, acting  as  aid  to  General  Braddock,  was  in  the  thickest 
of  the  fight,  and  his  escape  seemed  almost  miraculous.  Brad- 
dock fell  mortally  wounded,  after  having  had  five  horses  killed 
under  him.  He  was  carried  off  the  field  on  a  stretcher  made  of 
his  heavy  sash,  to  a  place  of  safety ;  but  died  before  the  retreat- 
ing army  reached  Cumberland.  The  English  lost  seven  hundred 
killed  and  wounded ;  while  of  the  French  and  Indians  only  thirty- 
three  were  killed.  The  defeated  army  was  not  pursued,  as  the 
Indians  could  not  be  induced  to  leave  the  scene  of  carnage. 

Three  years  passed  before  any  further  effort  was  made  to  dis- 


CONTEST  FOR  THE  OHIO.  59 

lodge  the  French  from  the  "Gateway  of  the  West."  Fortunately 
for  the  Colonies  England  now  had  a  minister  who  recognized 
the  importance  of  the  position.  Pitt  determined  the  English 
to  make  fresh  effort  to  obtain  possession  of  Fort  Duquesne. 
An  expedition  for  this  purpose  was  intrusted  to  General  Jo- 
seph Forbes,  who,  after  long  waiting  and  many  disappointments,' 
found  himself  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  six  thousand  two  hun- 
dred men — Scotch  Highlanders,  Royal  Americans,  Militia,  and 
Volunteers;  among  the  last  were  Benjamin  West,  the  painter, 
and  Anthony  Wayne,  then  a  lad  of  thirteen.  Washington,  in 
command  of  the  Virginia  regiments,  led  the  advance,  and  but  for 
him  the  expedition  would  most  probably  have  failed.  During 
the  long  and  trying  march  through  snow  and  over  rocky  roads 
his  brave  spirit  cheered  his  men,  and  made  them  disregard  hard- 
ships which  they  would  not  have  borne  so  uncomplainingly 
under  a  leader  less  trusted. 

The  garrison  at  Fort  Duquesne,  disheartened  at  the  approach 
of  so  superior  a  force,  determined  to  abandon  the  post.  Accord- 
ingly, after  setting  fire  to  the  fort  on  the  night  of  November  24, 
1758,  they  embarked  on  the  river  in  the  light  of  the  flames. 
On  the  evening  of  the  next  day  the  British  flag  floated  over  the 
ruins,  and  from  that  time  the  place  has  commemorated  the  name 
of  Pitt. 

The  possession  of  the  Ohio  was  now  secured  by  the  English ; 
and  the  contest  between  two  civilized  nations  for  land,  rightfully 
the  property  of  neither,  was  ended. 


THREE  HUNDRED  FEET  UP  BI.ACKWATER. 


EARLY  SETTLEMENTS. 

THE  earliest  settlements  on  the  Ohio  River  were  made  in 
the  years  1770  and  1773 — the  one  by  the  Zane  brothers, 
at  Wheeling;  the  other  at  Louisville,  by  the  Taylors,  Thomas 
Bullitt,  the  McAfees,  McCouns,  and  Adams. 

The  spot  selected  by  the  Zanes  in  1769  became  in  1777  the 
scene  of  the  memorable  siege  of  Fort  Henry,  in  which  a  little 
band  of  defenders  were  opposed  by  savages  more  than  thirty 
times  their  number,  led  by  Simon  Girty,  the  renegade. 

After  fighting  for  several  hours  the  supply  of  powder  was  so 
reduced  that  a  surrender  would  have  been  inevitable  but  for  the 
heroism  of  Elizabeth  Zane.  At  her  brother's  house,  across  an 
open  space  just  outside  the  fort,  was  a  keg  of  gunpowder,  to  ob- 
tain which  the  commander  was  about  to  send  out  one  of  the 
men,  when  the  sister  of  the  Zanes  stepped  forward  and  insisted 
that  to  her  the  undertaking  should  be  intrusted,  urging  that  the 
danger  attending  the  venture  was  sufficient  reason  why  the  life 
of  a  soldier  should  not  be  risked,  for  the  garrison  was  already 
too  weak  to  spare  even  one  of  its  number.  The  firing  was^  dis- 
continued for  a  short  time,  thus  giving  a  favorable  opportunity 
to  the  brave  girl,  who,  in  full  view  of  the  enemy,  made  her  way 
across  the  open  space,  obtained  her  prize,  and  was  returning 
with  it  before  the  Indians  suspected  her  purpose.  They  imme- 
diately leveled  their  pieces  and  aimed  a  volley  at  her  as  she 
ran  toward  the  gate;  but  not  a  ball  grazed  her  clothing,  and 

63 


64  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

she  entered  the  fort  in  safety,  bearing  the  keg  of  powder  in 
her  arms. 

Although  the  spot  upon  which  Louisville  was  built  was  se- 
lected in  1773,  it  was  an  uncertain  home  for  the  few  families 
there  collected,  who  were  in  constant  dread  of  the  Indians.  All 
this  was  changed  in  1778,  when  George  Rogers  Clark  made  his 
successful  foray  into  the  Indian  country.  Virginia  had  raised  a 
regiment  for  the  defense  of  the  western  frontier ;  with  this  force 
Clark  descended  the  Monongahela  and  the  Ohio  to  the  Falls.* 
Halting  a  few  days  at  the  little  settlement,  he  waited  for  the 
Kentucky  volunteers  to  join  him.  One  direct  consequence  of 
his  success  was  the  preservation  of  the  settlement  at  the  mouth  of 
"Bear  Grass  Creek."  Previous  to  that  period  the  families  of  the 
pioneers  w^ho  were  collected  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  had  been  com- 
pelled to  seek  safety  upon  the  small  island  abreast  of  the  present 
site  of  the  city.  Here  Clark  had  built  a  fort,  and  at  his  depart- 
ure about  thirteen  families  remained  on  this  narrow  islet,  in  the 
midst  of  the  foaming  rapids,  surrounded  by  enemies  and  en- 
during the  severest  privations,  yet  tenaciously  maintaining  their 
foothold.  The  capture  of  Vincennes,  by  breaking  up  the  nearest 
and  strongest  of  the  enemy's  western  posts,  relieved  their  appre- 
hensions of  immediate  danger,  and  encouraged  them  to  settle 
permanently  on  the  Kentucky  shore. 

f  he  possibility  of  establishing  settlements  on  the  river  having 
been  demonstrated  at  the  two  points  mentioned,  it  was  not  long 
before  other  bands  of  determined  men  were  induced,  either  by  the 
love  of  adventure  or  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  to  brave  the  hardships 
and  dangers  of  pioneer  life.  A  clear  title  to  four  hundred  acres  of 
well-watered  and  well-timbered  productive  land,  in  an  agreeable 

*AppendixA,  No.  HI. 


EARLY  SETTLEMENTS,  65 

climate,  where  game  was  abundant,  could  be  obtained  by  simply 
putting  up  a  log  cabin  and.  raising  one  crop.  For  this  reason 
many  a  hardy  woodsman  of  the  older  settlements,  where  land  was 
both  poor  in  quality  and  high  in  price,  made  light  of  the  risk; 
and  thinking  only  of  gain,  shouldered  his  rifle  and  ax,  and  wuth 
all  his  wordly  goods  on  a  pack-saddle,  made  his  way,  with  horse 
and  dog,  over  the  mountains. 

Wild  and  extravagant  stories  were  wafted  across  the  Atlantic. 
Designing  agents  of  more  designing  speculators  formed  in  France 
a  company  of  five  hundred  emigrants,  who  left  their  native 
shores  and  encountered  perils  by  sea  and  land  to  reach  the  "  won- 
derful Ohio  Valley."  They  landed  at  Alexandria,  but  it  was 
months  before  their  conductors  made  arrangements  for  them  to 
cross  the  mountains.  After  having  been  two  years  on  the  jour- 
ney they  reached  their  destination,  and  began  building  the  town 
of  Gallipolis,  on  the  Ohio  River.* 

About  the  same  time  settlements  were  begun  at  Marietta, 
Manchester,  Maysville,  and  Cincinnati,  in  spite  of  the  outrages 
committed  by  the  savages.  Accounts  of  inhuman  butcheries 
and  cruej  tortures  inflicted  upon  the  early  settler  fill  pages  of 
history.  Strong  men,  bravely  patient  women,  innocent  children, 
all  learned  to  dread  the  savage  yell  which  announced  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Indian ;  and  they  feared  still  more  the  treacherous 
ambuscade  into  which,  when  in  apparent  security,  so  many  heed- 
lessly wandered.  Homes  were  destroyed,  the  husband  and 
father  slain  and  scalped,  the  wife  and  mother  carried  into  cap- 
tivity, and  little  children  tomahawked  and  left  to  feed  the  wild 
beasts  that  lurked  in  the  forests  bordering  the  "Warrior's 
Road."     An   incident  in  the  history  of  Maysville   will  give  a 

^Appendix  A,  No.  IV. 


66  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

very  fair  picture  of  what  might  be  looked  for  by  those  attempting 
to  settle  on  the  river : 

"John  May  and  several  companions  were  drifting  down  the  Ohio, 
bound  for  Maysville,  when  suddenly,  at  daylight  one  morning,  an  alarm  of 
danger  was  given.  A  dense  smoke  was  seen  rising  above  the  trees  on  the 
northern  shore.  The  party  determined  at  once  to  seek  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river ;  but  they  were  hailed  by  two  white  men,  who  ran  down  to  the 
shore  and  implored  to  be  taken  on  board.  They  said  that  they  had  just 
escaped  from  the  Indians,  and  were  closely  pursued,  and  unless  taken  on 
board  would  surely  be  recaptured  and  killed.  They  were  suspected  of 
treachery  by  some  of  the  party  in  the  boat,  but  their  entreaties  made 
others  beg  that  they  might  be  rescued.  May  was  resolute  in  his  refusal, 
but  one  of  his  companions  induced  him  to  put  in  to  the  shore  just  long 
enough  to  allow  him  to  land.  The  savages  hidden  under  the  drooping 
willows  were  instantly  masters  of  the  situation,  though  they  contented 
themselves  for  some  time  with  firing  upon  the  crew  without  making  any 
attempt  to  take  possession  of  the  boat.  As  soon  as  it  was  seen  that  resist- 
ance was  useless,  all  hands  lay  down  on  their  faces  wherever  they  could 
best  be  protected.  One  of  the  women  was  shot  and  instantly  killed,  one  of 
the  men  was  severely  wounded,  and  May,  finding  the  firing  hotter  at  every 
moment,  waved  a  signal  of  surrender,  and  was  killed  in  the  act.  The  savages 
now  made  for  the  boat,  and  on  boarding  it  shook  hands  with  their  prisoners, 
and  then  coolly  scalped  the  dead.  After  pulling  the  boat  ashore  they  ex- 
amined and  destroyed  every  thing  of  value,  until  they  stumbled  upon  a  keg 
of  whisky,  which  they  carried  off  in  great  exultation.     .     .     . 

**  One  of  their  captives  was  burned  at  the  stake ;  another,  after  running 
the  gauntlet,  was  condemned  to  death,  but  made  his  escape.  A  woman  of 
the  party  who  had  seen  her  sister  shot  and  killed,  had  been  bound  to  the 
stake,  fagots  were  piled  around  her  ready  to  be  fired,  when  a  chief,  more 
merciful  than  his  companions,  interfered  and  had  her  released." 

It  was  amid  scenes  such  as  these  that  the  settlements  on  the 
Ohio  River  were  begun,  and  notwithstanding  the  frequent  raids 
of  the  savages  the  number  of  these  settlements  steadily  increased, 
until  the  whole  region  was  reclaimed ;  for  the  Red  Man  learned  to 


EARL  Y  SE  TTLEMENTS,  67 

dread  the  "Long  Knives,"  and  prudently  withdrew  to  other 
hunting-grounds.  The  attractions  of  the  country  were  so  varied, 
and  the  Indians  had  been  so  thoroughly  taught  to  respect  the 
fighting  qualities  of  the  Scotch-Irish  emigrants  from  the  valley 
of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  that  we  can  understand  why 
Washington  said  of  the  settlement  at  Marietta:  "No  colony  was 
ever  settled  under  more  favorable  auspices." 

Glowing  accounts  were  sent  back  to  their  old  homes  by  the 
"advance  guard"  of  civilization — they  were  enthusiastic  about 
the  riches  of  the  Ohio  country,  "where  cattle  could  be  fed  all  the 
year  round  on  pasturage  springing  spontaneously  from  the  soil ; 
where  lands  suitable  for  raising  grain  could  outvie  the  islands 
of  the  Mediterranean ;  and  where  there  were  bogs  from  which 
might  be  gathered  cranberries  enough  to  make  tarts  for  all  New 
England." 

The  other  side  of  the  picture  was  passed  over  in  silence; 
no  mention  was  made  of  danger  and  discomfort,  of  crops 
wantonly  destroyed  by  vengeful  Indians,  of  flocks  robbed  by 
wild  animals,  of  the  inconvenience  of  being  farmer  and  sol- 
dier at  once ;  for  no  man  dared  venture  from  his  door  without  a 
rifle,  and  guards  were  invariably  posted  to  give  an  alarm  to 
those  working  in  the  field  should  there  be  any  sign  of  the 
enemy. 

These  delusive  accounts  sent  by  the  pioneers  to  friends  in 
their  old  homes  awakened  the  keenest  interest,  and  soon  new 
re-enforcements  poured  into  the  settlements  from  New  England, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia.  The  old  Braddock  trail  became  one 
of  the  highways  by  which  the  emigrant  sought  his  new  home, 
and  on  reaching  an  affluent  of  the  Ohio  a  flat-boat  was  con- 
structed, and  the  journey  continued.     These  boats,  called  keels, 


68  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

sometimes  "from  fifty  to  seventy-five  feet  long,  were  sharp  at 
both  ends,  drawing  little  water,  and  capable  of  carrying  a  good 
burden."* 

The  more  provident  man,  of  those  seeking  homes  in  the 
western  wilds,  always  preceded  his  family,  and  spent  a  season  in 
raising  a  crop  and  in  other  preparations,  before  making  the  move ; 
otherwise  much  suffering  was  often  the  result,  for  when  the  supply 
of  provisions  brought  from  across  the  mountains  was  exhausted, 
it  could  only  be  replenished  with  game.  lycan  venison  and  the 
breast  of  wild  turkey  were  substituted  for  bread,  and  bear's-flesh 
or  other  gross  food  was  styled  meat.  After  a  season's  crops  had 
been  gathered  the  family  bill  of  fare  ordinarily  consisted  of  "  hog 
and  hominy,"  with  Johnny-cake  for  breakfast  and  dinner,  and 
mush  for  supper.  This  last  was  frequently  served  and  eaten 
with  bear's  oil,  a  VIndienne. 

Crockery  was  an  unheard-of  luxury;  wooden  trenchers  and 
much-battered  pewter  ware,  supplemented  with  bone  or  gourd, 
were  considered  luxuries.  Iron  utensils  and  knives  and  forks, 
as  well  as  salt  and  iron  castings,  were  brought  across  the 
mountains  on  pack-horses,  and  were  consequently  very  ex- 
pensive. 

A  caravan  trade  was  carried  on  in  order  to  obtain  indispen- 
sables,  but  furs  and  peltries  were  the  only  articles  of  export  until 
time  enough  had  elapsed  for  the  raising  of  cattle  and  horses  for 
Eastern  markets.  A  cow  and  calf  was  the  usual  price  paid  for 
a  bushel  of  salt,  which,  until  weights  came  into  use,  was  meas- 


*  other  boats  then  in  use  were  called  arks:  "These  arks  are  built  for  sale  for  the 
accommodation  of  families  descending  the  river,  and  for  the  convenience  of  produce.  They 
are  flat-bottomed  and  square  at  the  ends,  and  are  all  made  of  th^  same  dimensions,  being 
fifty  feet  long  and  fourteen  broad.  They  are  covered,  and  are  managed  by  a  steering-oar, 
which  can  be  lifted  out  of  the  water.  The  usual  price  is  seventy-five  dollars,  and  each  will 
accommodate  three  or  four  families  as  they  carry  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  tons."— Braddury. 


EARL  Y  SETTLEMENTS.  69 

ured  by  hand  into  a  half  bushel.  This  was  done  with  the  utmost 
care,  and  evely  precaution  taken  to  prevent  the  displacement  of 
a  single  g^ain. 

Each  family  possessed  a  hominy-block,  which  consisted  of  a 
huge  block  of  wood  with  a  hole  burnt  in  one  end,  and  so  formed 
that  the  pestle  would  throw  the  corn  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
make  it  fall  back  into  the  center,  and  thus  come  again  under  the 
strokes  of  the  pestle.  The  hand-mill,  usually  possessed  by  sev- 
eral families  in  common,  was  precisely  the  same  as  that  used  in 
Palestine  to-day,  and  which  is  mentioned  in  the  Bible.  It  was 
made  of  two  circular  stones  placed  in  a  hoop,  with  a  spout  for 
sending  off  the  meal.  A  handle  was  fitted  in  the  upper  stone, 
and  so  fastened  that  two  persons  could  grind  at  the  same  time ; 
the  g^ain  was  nin  by  hand  into  the  opening  in  the  upper 
stone.  The  first  water-mills  were  called  tub-mills,  and  were 
of  very  simple  construction.  Instead  of  bolting-cloths,  sifters 
of  deer-skins  were  used;  these  were  made  by  stretching  the 
skin  in  a  state  of  parchment  over  a  hoop,  and  perforating  it 
with  a  hot  wire. 

Homespun  and  home-cut  garments  alone  were  used,  linsey- 
woolsey — a  mixture  of  flax  and  wool — and  coarse  linen  were  the 
staple  fabrics.  It  was  not  until  the  first  retail  store  was  opened 
at  Louisville,  in  1783,  that  the  belle  of  the  "forest  land"  could 
adorn  her  comely  person  in  gorgeous  calico,  and  the  dandy  of 
the  settlement  could  doff  his  coon-skin  cap  for  a  wool  hat.  A 
chronicler  of  the  day,  in  commenting  on  this  store,  says:  "The 
tone  of  society  became  visibly  more  elevated." 

In  building  his  cabin  the  settler  had  no  use  for  other  tools 
than  an  ax,  an  augur,  and  a  cross-cut  saw.  Wooden  pins  took 
the  place  of  nails,  and  unhewn  logs,  poles,  clapboards,  and  pun- 


70  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

cheons  were  the  materials  necessary.  If  a  window  were  desired, 
the  aperture  was  fitted  with  a  frame,  over  which  oiled  paper  was 
stretched;  but  light  was  usually  admitted  through  the  open 
door.  When  in  the  course  of  time  an  enterprising  merchant 
added  window-glass  to  his  stock  in  trade,  and  by  way  of  adver- 
tising his  new  commodity  improved  his  own  establishment,  great 
was  the  amazement  of  the  settlement  urchins,  who  had  never  seen 
any  other  habitation  than  that  of  the  backwoodsman.  One  of 
the  hopefuls,  on  seeing  for  the  first  time  a  house  with  glass  win- 
dows, rUvShed  home  to  his  mother,  exclaiming :  "  O,  ma,  there  is  a 
house  down  here  w4th  specs  on." 

A  hard  life  of  constant  toil  in  the  midst  of  ever-present 
danger  admitted  few  opportunities  for  merry-making.  Log- 
rolling, cabin-building,  and  harvesting  always  ended  with  a 
frolic,  but  the  celebration  of  a  marriage  was  the  sole  occasion 
when  friends  met  for  pleasure  alone.  Wedding  festivities  some- 
times continued  for  several  days ;  they  were  always  initiated  at 
the  house  of  the  groom,  where  his  attendants  met  to  accompany 
him  to  the  home  of  the  bride.  The  party  would  set  out  in 
great  glee,  but  their  progress  would  frequently  be  interrupted  by 
barricades  of  grape-vines.  Practical  jokes  of  various  kinds  met 
them  at  every  turn,  until,  when  within  a  mile  of  their  destina- 
tion, the  race  for  "Black  Betty"  began.  Two  of  the  party  being 
vSelected  by  the  others,  put  their  ponies  to  their  utmost  speed, 
and  the  one  reaching  the  house  first  received  at  the  door  a 
bottle  of  whisky,  with  which  he  returned  to  treat  the  groom  and 
his  attendants. 

The  marriage  always  took  place  in  the  forenoon,  and  dinner 
followed  immediately  after  the  ceremony.  Then  came  the  danc- 
ing, invariably  beginning  with  a  "square  four,"  which  led  into 


EARL  Y  SETTLEMENTS.  7 1 

what  was  called  "jigging  it  off,"  and  was  kept  up  without  inter- 
mission for  hours. 

Although  the  standard  of  morals  was  generally  good,  but 
few — before  the  days  of  camp-meetings,  which,  however,  were 
early  instituted — regarded  Sunday  other  than  a  rest-day  for  the 
aged  and  a  play-day  for  the  youngster.  But  if  religion  was 
wanting,  superstition  abounded,  and  many  held  firmly  to  a 
belief  in  witches.* 

In  one  of  the  settlements  drunkenness  had  become  so  dis- 
tressing the  better  class  of  the  community  determined  to  try  to 
abate  the  evil  by  imposing  a  fine ;  the  stumps  had  not  yet  been 
removed  from  the  public  thoroughfares,  and  it  was  decreed  that 
any  person  found  guilty  of  intemperance  should  be  compelled  to 
dig  up  a  stump.  The  plan  worked  admirably.  But  some  of  the 
fines  and  penalties,  though  assigned  by  a  judge  of  the  court, 
were  sometimes  quite  disproportionate  to  the  offense ;  in  more 
than  one  instance  an  offender  was  condemned  to  death  for  petty 
larceny. 

The  price  at  which  certain  articles  might  be  sold  was  fixed 
by  court:  A  half-pint  of  whisky  at  $15;  corn  at  $10  a  gallon; 
lodging  in  a  feather-bed,  $6;  a  "diet,"  $12;  and  stable  or  pas- 
turage for  one  night,  $4.  The  seeming  exorbitance  of  these 
charges  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  Continental  money  was 
the  only  currency. 

In  the  first  days  of  a  settlement  but  little  attention  was  paid 
to  drainage,  and  of  the  many  disorders  prevalent  in  consequence, 
perhaps  rheumatism  was  most  general;    for  this  reason  each 


*  It  was  often  said  that  witches  had  milked  the  cows,  and  this  was  supposed  to  have  been 
done,  "by  fixing  a  new  pin  in  a  new  towel  for  each  cow  intended  to  be  milked;  the  towel 
was  hung  over  her  own  door,  and  by  means  of  certain  incantations  the  witch  extracted  milk 
from  the  fringes  of  the  towel  after  the  manner  of  milking  a  cow." 


12  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

backwoodsman  slept  with  his  feet  to  the  fire,  either  to  prevent  or 
to  allay  the  trouble.  The  sovereign  remedy  for  this  and  other 
diseases  was  "Seneca  Oil,"  the  petroleum  of  the  present  day.* 

Perhaps  there  is  nothing  more  amazing  in  the  development 
of  the  country  than  the  rapidity  with  which  manufacturing 
establishments  sprang  up,  first  on  its  southern  affluents,  and 
then  on  the  Ohio  itself  Before  the  close  of  the  century 
(which  had  entered  its  eighth  decade  when  the  first  step  was 
made  towards  civilizing  the  Ohio  region)  flour  was  shipped  in 
considerable  quantities  for  New  Orleans  and  the  West  Indies, 
in  vessels  built  on  the  Allegheny  or  Monongahela;  and  glass- 
houses, paper-mills,  rope-walks,  tanneries,  potteries,  powder-mills, 
salt-works, t  and  printing-offices  were  in  operation  at  various 
points. 

At  the  close  of  the  century  the  river  began  to  present  a  very 
lively,  appearance.  Up  to  1795  the  population  numbered  not 
more  than  twenty-five  families  for  each  hundred  miles  of  the 
river's  length,  from  Pittsburgh  to  its  mouth ;  but  by  1802  planta- 
tions were  said  to  have  increased  so  ''that  they  were  not  more 
than  from  one  to  three  miles  asunder,  and  some  of  them  always 
within  sight  from  the  middle  of  the  river."t  Perhaps  this  statement 
had  best  be  taken  ctmi  grano  salis ;  but  the  influx  from  Penn- 
sylvania and  Virginia  had  undoubtedly  made  a  marked  differ- 
ence  in   the    prosperity    of  the   settlements.      Arks    were  con- 

*"  The  Seneca  Indian  Oil  is  a  liqiud  bitumen  which  oozes  through  fissures  of  the  rocks, 
and  is  found  floating  on  the  surface  of  several  springs."— /Tarr^j'^  Tour. 

"  Here  is  a  spring  on  the  top  of  which  floats  an  oil  similar  to  that  called  Barbadoes  tar. 
It  is  very  efficacious  in  rheumatic  pains ;  troops  sent  to  guard  the  Western  posts  bathed  their 
joints  with  it,  and  found  great  relief  from  rheumatic  complaints  with  which  they  were 
2S^\c\.^di."— Navigator  i 

t  **  That  the  Indians  were  acquainted  with  the  art  of  evaporating  salt-brine,  is  evident 
from  the  ancient  pottery  found  near  the  Kanawha  salt-works."— Z?orf^^. 

IMichaux.  . 


EARLY  SETTLEMENTS.  73 

stantly  passing  down  the  river,  transporting  human  freight,  as 
well  as  live-stock,  farming  implements,  and  such  articles  as  were 
deemed  indispensable  to  the  establishment  of  a  home  in  the 
wilderness. 

Pittsburgh  had  gained  in  commercial  what  it  had  lost  in  mili- 
tary importance.  It  had  been  transformed  from  a  well-guarded 
outpost,  with  a  few  straggling  huts  built  near  the  fortification, 
to  a  town  of  four  hundred  houses  (many  of  which  were  of  brick), 
and  the  fort  adjoining  the  town  had  sunk  into  insignificance, 
and  was  manned  only  by  a  weak  garrison,  for  the  Indians  had 
now  withdrawn  into  the  interior.  The  town  could  boast  of  two 
printing-offices  and  four  newspapers  a  week,  and  had  become  the 
entrepot  for  goods  shipped  at  Philadelphia  for  the  western  set- 
tlements, as  well  as  for  the  products  that  were  sent  to  New  Or- 
leans from  the  towns  on  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela,  and 
the  surrounding  country.  Some  of  these  articles  were  flour, 
hams,  smoked  pork,  bar  iron,  coarse  cloths,  bottles,  whisky,  and 
barreled  butter.  Three-masted  vessels  of  two  hundred  tons 
burthen  were  being  constructed ;  others  of  considerable  tonnage 
had  already  been  launched  on  the  Monongahela.  They  were  sup- 
plied with  cordage  manufactured  at  Redstone  (Brownsville). 

Wheeling,  Marietta,  Cincinnati,  Maysville,  Manchester,  Car- 
rollton,  and  Louisville  had  grown  in  proportion  to  the  location 
and  the  character  of  their  settlers  and  those  of  the  adjacent 
country,  among  whom  were  many  who  preferred  the  excitement 
of  the  chase  to  the  plodding  life  of  a  tiller  of  the  soil.  The 
hardships,  trials,  and  vexations  the  early  settlers  endured  with 
patience  and  courage  can  not  easily  be  appreciated  by  a  people 
who  are  looking  backward  through  the  vista  of  a  century. 

More  resolute,  honest,  and  upright  men  have  never  opened 


74  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

a  country  for  the  coming  of  civilization,  than  were  the  settlers 
who  builded  their  rough  log  cabins  upon  the  forest-clad  banks  of 
the  Monongahela.  The  women  who  shared  their  checkered  for- 
tunes were  worthy  to  be  the  wives  and  mothers  of  those  hardy, 
daring  pioneers  of  a  republic  which  owes  its  existence  to  their 
fortitude  and  courage,  and  its  greatness  to  their  virtue  and 
patriotism. 

These  settlers  had  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  "  long  hunters'* 
of  Virginia  and  Western  Pennsylvania.  Their  homes  were  hos- 
pitably open  to  all  travelers,  and  the  "block-houses"  were  ral- 
lying-points  for  Indian  traders  and  Indian  fighters,  before  the 
Colonies  refused  to  drink  taxed  tea,  or  unfurled  the  Starry  Flag 
in  the  teeth  of  every  wind  that  blew. 

In  every  struggle  west  of  the  mountains,  where  men  were 
hastily  gathered  by  hundreds  or  twenties,  to  fight  French  troops 
and  their  Indian  allies,  or,  in  later  days,  English  and  Indian  in- 
vaders, the  pioneers  met  the  shock  and  brunt  of  battle.  Wher- 
ever danger,  stalked  or  border  foes  met  in  desperate  encounter, 
the  courage  of  the  settlers  was  tested,  and,  in  the  main,  it  rang 
true  as  steel.  They  were  restive  under  military  restraint,  for 
they  were  above  all  things  freemen,  accustomed  to  the  freedom 
of  the  woods ;  but  as  trailers  of  a  predatory  foe — ready  to  en- 
dure fatigue,  hunger,  physical  suffering,  careless  of  wounds,  care- 
less of  death— they  were  matchless.  They  were  no  less  ready 
to  dare  any  and  all  odds,  in  hand-to-hand  fights,  upon  **  The 
Shining  River;"  or  under  the  lintels  of  their  cabins,  if  a  little 
band  of  daring  warriors  crept  past  the  frontier  forts,  to  strike 
these  outlying  farms,  and  gather  the  blood-red  trophies  which 
were  to  give  them  rank  in  the  tribes. 

In  the  record  of  individual  daring,  Wheeling  has  commem- 


EARL  Y  SETTLEMENTS  .  75 

orated   a  gallant   deed    by  naming  the   bluff  above  Wheeling 
Creek  McCulloch's  Leap. 

In  September  of  1782  Fort  Henry  was  besieged  by  some  five 
hundred  Indians,  commanded  by  Simon  Girty,  who  figures  in 
the  history  of  the  time  as  a  renegade  more  cruel  than  the 
Indians  he  led.  In  the  history  of  the  relief  of  the  garrison,  this 
incident  is  given : 

"  About  daybreak  Major  Samuel  McCulloch,  with  forty  mounted  men 
from  Short  Creek,  came  to  the  rehef  of  the  Httle  garrison.  The  gate  was 
thrown  open,  and  McCuUoch's  men,  though  closely  beset  by  the  Indians, 
entered  in  safety,  but  McCulloch  himself  was  not  permitted  to  pass  the 
gateway;  the  Indians  crowded  around  him  and  separated  him  from  his 
party.  After  several  ineffectual  attempts  to  force  his  way  to  the  gate,  he 
wheeled  about  and  galloped  with  the  swiftness  of  a  deer  in  the  direction  of 
Wheehng  Hill. 

"The  Indians  might  easily  have  killed  him,  but  they  cherished  towards 
him  an  almost  frenzied  hatred ;  for  he  had  participated  in  so  many  en- 
counters that  almost  every  warrior  personally  knew  him.  To  take  him 
alive,  and  glut  their  full  revenge  by  the  most  fiendish  tortures,  was  their 
object,  and  they  made  almost  superhuman  exertions  to  capture  him.  He 
put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  soon  became  completely  hemmed  in  on  three 
sides,  and  the  fourth  was  almost  a  perpendicular  precipice  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  descent,  with  Wheeling  Creek  at  its  base.  Supporting  his  rifle 
on  his  left  hand,  and  carefully  adjusting  his  reins  with  the  other,  he  urged 
his  horse  to  the  brink  of  the  bluff,  and  then  made  the  leap  which  decided 
his  fate.  The  next  moment  the  noble  steed,  still  bearing  his  intrepid  rider 
in  safety,  was  at  the  foot  of  the  precipice.  McCulloch  immediately  dashed 
across  the  creek  and  was  soon  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Indians. 

"  After  the  escape  of  Major  McCulloch  the  Indians  concentrated  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill,  and  soon  after  set  fire  to  all  the  houses  and  fences  outside 
of  the  fort,  and  killed  about  three  hundred  head  of  cattle  belonging  to  the 
settlers.  They  then  raised  the  siege  and  took  up  the  line  of  march  to  some 
other  theater  of  action. 

"  As  the  reader  will  very  naturally  desire  to  learn  the  fate  of  Major 
McCulloch   after    his    almost   miraculous  escape  from  the   Indians,  some 


76  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

account  of  the  manner  of  his  death  may  be  properly  introduced  in 
this  place. 

"Not  long  after  the  siege  of  Fort  Henry,  indications  of  Indians 
having  been  noticed  by  some  of  the  settlers,  Major  McCuUoch  and  his 
brother  John  mounted  their  horses  and  left  Van  Metre's  fort  to  ascertain 
the  correctness  of  the  report.  They  crossed  Short  Creek,  and  continued  in 
the  direction  of  Wheeling,  but  inclining  towards  the  river.  They  scouted 
closely,  but  cautiously,  and  not  discovering  any  such  '  signs '  as  had  been 
stated,  descended  to  the  river  bottom  at  a  point  on  the  farm  subsequently 
owned  by  Alfred  P.  tVoods,  about  two  miles  above  Wheeling.  They  then 
passed  up  the  river  to  the  mouth  of  Short  Creek,  and  thence  up  Girty's  Point 
in  the  direction  of  Van  Metre's.  Not  discovering  any  indications  of  the 
enemy,  the  brothers  were  riding  leisurely  along,  when,  a  short  distance 
beyond  the  'Point,'  a  deadly  discharge  of  rifles  took  place,  killing  Major 
Samuel  McCulloch  instantly.  His  brother  John  escaped,  but  his  horse  was 
killed.  Immediately  mounting  that  of  his  brother  he  made  off  to  give  the 
alarm.  As  yet  no  enemy  had  been  seen ;  but,  turning  in  his  saddle  after 
riding  fifty  yards,  the  path  wais  filled  with  Indians,  and  one  fellow  was  seen 
in  the  act  of  scalping  the  unfortunate  major.  Quick  as  thought  the  rifle 
of  John  was  at  his  shoulder;  ah  instant  later  and  the  savage  was  rolling  in 
the  agonies  of  death.  John  escaped  to  the  fort  unhurt,  with  the  exception 
of  a  slight  wound  of  his  hip. 

"  On  the  following  day  a  party  of  men  from  Van  Metre's  went  out  and 
gathered  up  the  mutilated  remains  of  Major  McCulloch.  The  savages  had 
disemboweled  him,  but  the  viscera  all  remained  except  the  heart.  Some 
years  subsequent  to  this  melancholy  affair,  an  Indian,  who  had  been  one 
of  the  party  on  this  occasion,  told  some  whites  that  the  heart  of  Major 
McCulloch  had  been  divided  and  eaten  by  the  party.  'This  was  done,'  said 
he,  '  that  we  be  bold,  like  Major  McCulloch.' " 

To  define  the  times  it  is  necessary  to  insist  upon  the  fact  that 
the  **Ivaw  of  the  Border"  was  the  law  oj  retaliation.  The  inci- 
dent just  given,  and  the  crime  chronicled  here,  are  proofs  which 
show  both  sides  of  this  question. 

"  The  Moravian  Indians  consisted  chiefly  of  Delawares  and  Mohicans, 
who  had  been  converted  to  Christianity  through  the  zeal  and  influence  of 


EARL  Y  SETTLEMENTS.  77 

the  Mora\'ian  missionaries.  They  had  four  towns  on  the  iTpper  Mus- 
kingum, in  the  line  of  travel  between  the  nearest  point  on  the  Ohio  River 
and  Upper  Sandusky,  the  home  ^f  the  Delawares  and  other  warlike  tribes. 
The  Moravian  Indians  were  always  friendly  toward  the  whites.  During  the 
whole  of  the  Revolutionary'  War  they  had  remained  neutral,  or  if  they  took 
part,  it  was  in  favor  of  the  Americans,  advising  them  of  the  approach  of 
hostile  Indians,  and  rendering  other  kindly  offices.  For  ten  years  of  border 
strife  they  had  lived  in  peace  and  quietness,  but  at  length  became  objects 
of  suspicion  to  both  whites  and  savages.  They  were,  it  may  be  said,  be- 
tween two  fires.  While  passing  to  and  fro,  the  hostile  parties  would  compel 
them  to  furnish  provisions.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  they  should 
have  fallen  a  sacrifice  to  one  or  the  other. 

"It  happened  that  early  in  February,  1782,  a  party  of  Indians  from  San- 
dusky penetrated  the  white  settlements  and  committed  numerous  depreda- 
tions. Of  the  families  which  fell  beneath  the  murderous  stroke  of  these 
savages  was  that  of  David  Wallace,  consisting  of  himself,  wife,  and  six  chil- 
dren, and  at  the  same  time  a  man  named  Carpenter  was  taken  prisoner. 
The  early  date  of  this  visitation  induced  the  whites  to  believe  that  the 
depredators  had  wintered  with  the  Moravians,  and  they  at  once  resolved  on 
executing  summary  vengeance.  About  the  ist  of  March  a  body  of  eighty 
or  ninety  men  gathered  at  Mingo  Bottom,  a  few  miles  below  the  present 
town  of  Steubenville,  Ohio.  The  second  day's  march  brought  them  within 
a  short  distance  of  one  of  the  Moravian  towns  (of  which  there  were  four), 
and  they  encamped  for  the  night. 

"The  victims  received  warning  of  their  danger,  but  took  no  measures 
to  escape,  believing  that  they  had  nothing  to  fear  from  the  Americans.  On 
the  arrival  of  an  advanced  party  of  sixteen  men  they  professed  peace  and 
good-will  to  the  Moravians,  and  informed  them  that  they  had  come  to  take 
them  to  Fort  Pitt  for  safety.  The  Indians  surrendered,  delivering  up  their 
arms,  even  their  hatchets,  on  being  promised  that  everything  should  be 
restored  to  them  on  their  arrival  at  Pittsburg.  By  persuasion  of  some  and 
driving  of  others,  the  inhabitants  of  two  or  three  of  the  towns  had  been 
brought  together  and  bound  without  resistance.  A  council  of  war  was  then 
held  to  decide  their  fate.  The  commandant.  Colonel  David  Williamson,  at 
the  suggestion  of  his  officers,  then  put  the  question  to  his  men  in  form, 
"  Whether  the  Moravian  Indians  should  be  taken  prisoners  to  Pittsburg  or 
put  to  death  ?"  and  requested  that  all  who  were  in  favor  of  saving  their 


78  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

lives  should  step  out  of  the  line,  and  form  a  second  rank.  On  this  sixteen 
men  stepped  out,  and  formed  themselves  into  a  second  line.  The  fearful 
determination  of  putting  the  Moravians  to  death  was  thus  shown. 

"  Most  of  those  opposed  to  this  diabolical  resolution  protested  in  the 
name  of  high  Heaven  against  the  atrocious  act,  and  called  God  to  witness 
that  they  were  innocent  of  the  blood  of  these  people ;  yet  the  majority  re- 
mained unmoved,  and  some  of  them  were  even  in  favor  of  burning  them 
alive.  But  it  was  at  length  decided  that  they  should  be  scalped  in  cold 
blood,  and  the  Indians  were  told  to  prepare  for  their  fate.  They  were  led 
into  buildings,  in  one  of  which  the  men,  and  in  the  other  the  women  and 
children,  were  confined  like  sheep  for  the  slaughter.  They  passed  the  night 
in  praying  and  exhorting  one  another,  and  singing  hymns  of  praise  to  God. 

"  When  the  morning  arrived  for  the  purpose  of  slaughter,  two  houses 
were  selected,  one  for  the  men  and  the  other  for  the  women  and  children. 
The  victims  were  then  bound  two  and  two  together,  led  into  the  slaughter- 
houses, and  there  scalped  and  murdered.  The  number  of  the  slain,  accord- 
ing to  the  Moravian  account  (for  many  of  them  had  made  their  escape),  was 
ninety-six.  Of  these,  sixty-two  were  grown  persons,  one-third  of  whom 
were  women ;  the  remaining  thirty-four  were  children. 

"  After  the  work  of  death  had  been  finished  and  the  plunder  secured, 
all  the  buildings  in  the  towns  were  set  on  fire.  A  rapid  retreat  to  the 
settlements  concluded  this  deplorable  campaign." 

"  In  justice  to  the  memory  of  Colonel  Williamson,"  says  Doddridge, 
**  I  have  to  say,  that  although  at  that  time  very  young,  I  was  personally  ac- 
quainted with  him,  and  from  my  recollection  of  his  conversation,  I  say, 
with  confidence,  that  he  was  a  brave  man,  but  not  cruel.  He  would  meet 
an  enemy  in  battle  and  fight  like  a  soldier,  but  not  murder  a  prisoner. 
Had  he  possessed  the  authority  of  a  superior  officer  in  a  regular  army,  I 
do  not  believe  that  a  single  Moravian  Indian  would  have  lost  his  life ;  but 
he  possessed  no  such  authority.  He  was  only  a  militia  officer,  who  could 
advise,  but  not  command.  His  only  fault  was  that  of  too  easy  compliance 
with  popular  opinion  and  popular  prejudice.  On  this  account  his  memory 
has  been  loaded  with  unmerited  reproach. 

"  Should  it  be  asked.  What  sort  of  people  composed  this  band  of  mur- 
derers? I  answer,  they  were  not  all  miscreants  or  vagabonds;  many  of 
them  were  men  of  the  first  standing  in  the  country.  Many  of  them  had 
recently  lost  relations  by  the  hands  of  the  savage,  and  were  burning  with 


EARL  Y  SETTLEMENTS.  79 

revenge.  They  cared  little  on  whom  they  wreaked  their  vengeance,  so 
they  were  Indians. 

*'  When  attacked  by  our  people,  although  the  Moravians  might  have  de- 
fended themselves,*  they  did  not.  They  never  fired  a  single  shot.  They 
were  prisoners,  and  had  been  promised  protection.  Everj'  dictate  of  justice 
required  that  their  lives  should  be  spared.  It  was,  therefore,  an  atrocious 
and  unqualified  murder." 

"  The  object  of  the  campaign  which  succeeded  was  twofold  :  First,  to 
complete  the  work  of  murdering  and  plundering  the  Moravians  at  their 
new  establishment  on  the  Sandusky ;  and  secondly,  to  destroy  the  Wyandot 
towns  on  the  same  river.  It  was  the  resolution  of  all  concerned  in  this  ex- 
pedition not  to  spare  the  life  of  any  Indian  that  might  fall  into  their  hands, 
friend  or  foe,  man,  woman,  or  child.  But,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  sequel,  the 
result  was  widely  different  from  that  of  the  Moravian  campaign  of  the  pre- 
ceding March. 

"It  would  seem  that  the  long  continuance  of  this  Indian  war  had 
greatly  demoralized  the  early  settlers,  and  being  prompted  by  an  indiscrim- 
inate thirst  for  revenge,  they  were  prepared  to  go  to  almost  any  extreme  of 
barbarity. 

"On  the  25th  of  May,  1782,  four  hundred  and  eighty  men  mustered  at 
Mingo  Bottom  and  preceeded  to  elect  their  commander.  The  choice  fell 
upon  Colonel  William  Crawford,  who  accepted  the  comm^tnd  with  some  de- 
gree of  reluctance. 

"  The  army  marched  along  '  Williamson's  Trail,'  until  they  arrived  at 
the  ruins  of  the  upper  Moravian  town,  in  the  fields,  belonging  to  which 
there  was  still  plenty  of  corn  on  the  stalks,  with  which  their  horses  were 
fed  during  the  night. 

**  Shortly  after  the  army  halted  at  this  place,  two  Indians  were  discov- 
ered by  some  men  who  had  walked  out  of  the  camp.  Three  shots  were 
fired  at  one  of  them,  but  without  effect.  As  soon  as  the  news  reached  the 
camp,  more  than  one-half  of  the  men  rushed  out,  without  command,  and  in 
the  most  tumultuous  manner,  to  see  what  had  happened.  From  that  time 
Colonel  Crawford  felt  a  presentiment  of  the  defeat  which  followed. 

"  The  truth  is,  that  notwithstanding  the  secrecy  and  dispatch  with  which 
the  enterprise  had  been  gotten  up,  the  Indians  were  beforehand  with  the 
whites.  They  saw  the  rendezvous  on  the  Mingo  Bottom,  and  knew  the 
number  and  destination  of  the  troops.     They  visited  every  encampment 


8o  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

immediately  after  the  troops  had  left,  and  saw  from  their  writing  on  the 
trees  and  scraps  of  paper  that  '  no  quarter '  was  to  be  given  to  any  Indian, 
whether  man,  woman,  or  child, 

"Nothing  of  importance  happened  during  their  march  until  the  6th  of 
June,  when  their  guide  conducted  them  to  the  site  of  the  Moravian  villages 
on  one  of  the  upper  branches  of  the  Sandusky  River,  From  this  retreat 
the  Christian  Indians  had  lately  been  driven  away  by  the  Wyandots  to  the 
Scioto,  and  here  the  army  of  Colonel  Crawford,  instead  of  finding  Indians 
and  plunder,  met  with  nothing  but  vestiges  of  ruin  and  desolation, 

"  In  this  dilemma  what  was  to  be  done?  The  officers  held  a  council,  in 
which  it  was  determined  to  march  one  day  longer  in  the  direction  of  Upper 
Sandusky,  and  if  they  should  not  reach  the  town  in  the  course  of  a  day,  to 
make  a  retreat  with  all  possible  speed. 

"  The  march  was  commenced  the  next  morning,  through  the  plains  of 
Sandusky,  and  continued  until  two  o'clock,  when  the  advance  guard  was 
attacked  and  driven  in  by  the  Indians,  who  were  discovered  in  large  num- 
bers in  the  high  grass  with  which  the  place  was  covered.  The  Indian  army 
was  at  that  moment  about  entering  a  large  piece  of  wood  almost  entirely 
surrounded  by  plains ;  but  in  this  they  were  disappointed  by  a  rapid  move- 
ment of  the  whites.  The  battle  then  commenced  by  a  heavy  fire  from  both 
sides.  From  a  partial  possession  of  the  woods,  which  they  had  gained  at 
the  outset  of  the  battle,  the  Indians  were  soon  dislodged.  They  then  at- 
tempted to  gain  a  small  skirt  of  wood  on  the  right  flank  of  Colonel  Craw- 
ford, but  were  prevented  from  so  doing  by  Major  Leet,  who  at  the  time  com- 
manded the  right  wing.  The  firing  was  heavy  and  incessant  until  dark, 
when  it  ceased,  and  both  armies  lay  on  their  arms  during  the  night, 

"  In  the  morning  Colonel  Crawford's  army  occupied  the  battle-ground 
of  the  preceding  day.  The  Indians  made  no  attack  during  the  day  until 
late  in  the  evening,  but  were  seen  in  large  bodies  traversing  the  plains 
in  various  directions.  Some  of  them  appeared  to  be  carrying  off  the  dead 
and  wounded, 

**  In  the  morning  of  this  day  a  council  of  officers  was  held,  and  a  re- 
treat was  resolved  on  as  the  only  means  of  saving  the  army,  the  Indians 
appearing  to  increase  in  numbers  every  hour. 

"  During  the  day  preparations  were  made  for  a  retreat  by  burying  the 
dead,  burning  fires  over  the  graves  to  prevent  discovery,  and  preparing 
means  for  carrying  off  the  wounded.     The  retreat  was  to  commence  in  the 


EARL  Y  SETTLEMENTS.  8 1 

course  of  the  night.  The  Indians,  however,  became  apprised  of  the  intended 
retreat,  and  about  sundown  attacked  the  army  with  great  force  and  fury,  in 
every  direction  except  ^hat  of  Sandusky.  When  the  line  of  march  was 
formed  and  the  retreat  commenced,  Colonel  Crawford's  guides  prudently 
took  the  direction  of  Sandusky,  which  afforded  the  only  opening  in  the  In- 
dian lines  and  the  only  chance  of  concealment.  After  marching  about  a 
mile  in  this  direction  the  army  wheeled  about  to  the  left,  and  by  a  circuit- 
ous route,  gained  before  day  the  trail  by  which  they  came.  They  continued 
their  march  the  whole  of  the  next  day,  without  further  annoyance  than  the 
firing  of  a  few  distant  shots  by  the  Indians  at  the  rear-guard,  which  slightly 
wounded  two  or  three  men. 

"  But  several  parties,  supposing  that  they  could  more  effectually  secure 
their  safety  by  breaking  off  from  the  main  army  in  small  numbers,  were 
pursued  by  the  Indians  and  nearly  all  of  them  slain. 

"  At  the  commencement  of  the  retreat  Colonel  Crawford  placed  himself 
at  the  head  of  the  army,  and  continued  there  until  they  had  gone  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  when,  missing  his  son,  John  Crawford,  his  son-in-law, 
Major  Harrison,  and  his  nepliews.  Major  Rose  and  William  Crawford,  he 
halted  and  called  for  them  as  the  line  passed,  but  without  finding  them. 
After  the  army  had  passed  him  he  was  unable  to  overtake  it,  owing  to  the 
weariness  of  his  horse.  Falling  in  company  with  Dr.  Knight  and  two 
others,  they  traveled  all  night,  to  avoid  the  pursuit  of  the  Indians. 

"  On  the  next  day  they  fell  in  with  Captain  John  Biggs  and  Lieutenant 
Ashley,  the  latter  of  whom  was  wounded.  Two  others  were  in  company 
with  Biggs  and  Ashley.  They  encamped  together  the  succeeding  night. 
On  the  next  day,  while  on  their  march,  they  were  attacked  by  a  party  of  In- 
dians, who  made  Colonel  Crawford  and  Dr.  Knight  prisoners. 

"  *  The  colonel  and  I,'  says  Dr.  Knight,  '  were  then  taken  to  the  Indian 
camp,  which  was  about  half  a  mile  from  the  place  where  we  were  captured. 
On  Sunday  evening  five  Delawares,  who  had  posted  themselves  at  some 
distance  further  on  the  road,  brought  back  to  the  camp  where  we  lay  Cap- 
tain Biggs's  and  Lieutenant  Ashley's  scalps,  with  an  Indian  scalp  which 
Captain  Biggs  had  taken  in  the  field  of  action.  They  also  brought  in  Biggs's 
horse  and  mine.     They  told  us  the  two  other  men  got  away  from  them. 

" '  Monday  morning,  the  loth  of  June,  we  were  paraded  to  march  to 
Sandusky,  about  thirty-three  miles  distant.  They  had  eleven  prisoners  of 
us  and  four  scalps,  the  Indians  being  seventeen  in  number. 


82  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

"  *  Colonel  Crawford  was  very  desirous  to  see  a  certain  Simon  Girty, 
who  lived  among  the  Indians,  and  was  on  this  account  permitted  to  go  to 
town  the  same  night,  with  two  warriors  to  guard  him,  they  having  orders 
at  the  same  time  to  pass  by  the  place  where  the  colonel  had  turned  out  his 
horse,  that  they  might  if  possible  find  him.  The  rest  of  us  were  taken  as 
far  as  the  old  town  (Sandusky),  which  was  within  eight  miles  of  the  new. 

"'Tuesday  morning,  the  nth.  Colonel  Crawford  was  brought  out  of 
town  on  purpose  to  be  marched  in  with  the  other  prisoners.  I  asked  the 
colonel  if  he  had  seen  Mr.  Girty.  He  told  me  he  had,  and  that  Girty  had 
promised  to  do  everything  in  his  power  for  him,  but  that  the  Indians 
were  very  much  enraged  against  the  prisoners,  particularly  Captain  Pipe, 
one  of  the  chiefs ;  he  likewise  told  me  that  Girty  had  informed  him  that 
his  son-in-law,  Colonel  Harrison,  and  his  nephew,  William  Crawford,  were 
made  prisoners  by  the  Shawnees,  but  had  been  pardoned.  This  Captain 
Pipe  had  come  from  the  towns  about  an  hour  before  Colonel  Crawford, 
and  had  painted  all  the  prisoners'  faces  black. 

"'As  he  was  painting  me,  he  told  me  I  should  go  to  the  Shawnee 
towns*  and  see  my  friends.  When  the  colonel  arrived  he  painted  him 
black  also ;  told  him  he  was  glad  to  see  him,  and  that  he  would  have  him 
shaved  when  he  came  to  see  his  friends  at  the  Wyandot  town.  When 
we  marched,  the  colonel  and  I  were  kept  between  Pipe  and  Wingenim, 
the  two  Delaware  chiefs ;  the  other  nine  prisoners  were  sent  forward  with 
a  party  of  Indians.  As  we  went  along  we  saw  four  of  the  prisoners  lying 
by  the  path,  tomahawked  and  scalped ;  some  of  them  were  at  the  distance 
of  half  a  mile  from  the  others.  When  we  arrived  within  half  a  mile  of 
the  place  where  the  colonel  was  executed,  we  overtook  the  five  prisoners 
that  remained  alive.  The  Indians  had  caused  them  to  sit  down  on  the 
ground ;  also  the  colonel  and  myself  at  some  distance  from  them.  I  was 
then  given  in  charge  of  an  Indian  fellow  to  be  taken  to  the  Shaw- 
nee towns. 

"  *  In  the  place  where  we  were  now  made  to  sit  down,  there  were  a 
number  of  squaws  and  boys,  who  fell  on  the  five  prisoners  and  tomahawked 
them.  There  was  a  certain  John  McKinley  among  the  prisoners,  formerly 
an  officer  in  the  13th  Virginia  Regiment,  whose  head  an  old  squaw  cut 
off".  The  young  Indian  fellows  came  often  where  the  colonel  and  I  were, 
and   dashed  the   scalps   in  our  faces.     We  were    then    conducted   along 

'••  Pickaway  Plains,  on  the  Scioto  River. 


EARLY  SETTLEMENTS.  83 

towards  the  place  where  the  colonel  was  afterwards  executed.  When  we 
came  within  half  a  mile  of  it,  Simon  Girty  met  us,  with  several  Indians 
on  horseback.  He  spoke  to  the  colonel ;  but  as  I  was  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  behind,  I  could  not  hear  what  passed  between  them. 

"'Almost  every  Indian  we  met  struck  us  with  fist  or  sticks.  Girty 
waited  till  I  was  brought  up,  and  then  asked:  "Is  that  the  doctor?"  I  an- 
swered, "  Yes,"  and  went  toward  him,  reaching  out  my  hand ;  but  he  bid 
me  begone,  and  called  me  a  damned  rascal ;  upon  which  the  fellow  who 
had  me  in  charge  pulled  me  along.  Girty  rode  up  after  me,  and  told  me 
that  I  was  to  go  to  the  Shawnee  towns. 

" '  When  we  came  to  the  fire,  the  colonel  was  stripped  naked,  ordered 
to  sit  down  by  the  fire,  and  then  they  beat  him  with  sticks  and  fists. 
Presently  after  I  was  treated  in  the  same  manner. 

"'They  then  tied  a  rope  to  the  foot  of  a  post,  about  fifteen  feet  high, 
bound  the  colonel's  hands  behind  his  back,  and  fastened  the  rope  to  the 
ligature  between  his  wrists.  The  rope  was  long  enough  either  for  him 
to  sit  down  or  walk  round  the  post  once  or  twice,  and  return  the  same 
way.  The  colonel  then  called  to  Girty,  and  asked  if  they  intended  to  burn 
him  ?  Girty  answered,  "  Yes."  The  colonel  said  he  would  take  it  all  pa- 
tiently. Upon  this  Captain  Pipe,  a  Delaware  chief,  made  a  speech  to  the 
Indians,  consisting  of  about  thirty  or  forty  men,  and  sixty  or  seventy 
squaws  and  boys. 

"'When  the  speech  was  finished,  they  all  yelled  a  hideous  and  hearty 
assent  to  what  had  been  said.  The  Indian  men  then  took  up  their  guns 
and  shot  powder  into  the  colonel's  body,  from  his  feet  as  far  up  as  his 
neck.  I  think  not  less  than  seventy  loads  were  discharged  upon  his 
naked  body.  They  then  crowded  about  him,  and  to  the  best  of  my  obser- 
vation, cut  off  his  ears.  When  the  throng  had  dispersed  a  little,  I  saw 
the  blood  running  from  both  sides  of  his  head. 

" '  The  fire  was  about  six  or  seven  yards  from  the  post  to  which  the 
colonel  was  tied ;  it  was  made  of  small  hickory  poles,  burnt  quite  through 
in  the  middle,  each  end  of  the  poles  remaining  about  six  feet  in  length. 
Three  or  four  Indians,  by  iurns,  would  take  up  individually  one  of  these  . 
burning  pieces  of  wood  and  apply  it  to  his  naked  body,  already  burnt 
black  with  powder.  These  tormentors  presented  themselves  on  every  side 
of  him,  so  that  whichever  way  he  ran  round  the  post  they  met  him  with 
the  burning  fagots  and   poles.     Some   of  the  squaws  took  broad  boards, 

6 


84  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

upon  which  they  would  put  a  quantity  of  burning  coals  and  hot  embers 
and  throw  them  on  him,  so  that  in  a  short  time  he  had  nothing  but  coals 
of  fire  and  hot  ashes  to  walk  upon. 

** '  In  the  midst  of  these  extreme  tortures,  he  called  to  Simon  Girty, 
and  begged  him  to  shoot  him ;  but  Girty  making  no  answer,  he  called 
him  again.  Girty  then,  by  way  of  derision,  told  the  colonel  he  had  no 
gun,  and  at  the  same  time  turning  about  to  an  Indian  who  was  behind 
him,  laughed  heartily,  and  by  all  his  gestures  seemed  delighted  at  the 
horrid  scene. 

"  *  Girty  then  came  up  to  me  and  bade  me  prepare  for  death.  He 
said,  however,  "I  was  not  to  die  at  that  place,  but  to  be  burnt  at  the 
Shawnee  towns.  He  swore  by  G — d  I  need  not  expect  to  escape  death, 
but  should  suffer  it  in  all  its  horrors." 

"'Colonel  Crawford,  at  this  period  of  his  suffering,  besought  the 
Almighty  to  have  mercy  on  his  soul,  spoke  very  low,  and  bore  his  tor- 
ments with  the  most  manly  fortitude.  He  continued,  in  all  the  extrem- 
ities of  pain,  for  an  hour  and  three-quarters  or  two  hours  longer,  as  near 
as  I  can  judge,  when,  at  last,  being  almost  spent,  he  lay  down  on  his 
belly.  They  then  scalped  him,  and  repeatedly  threw  the  scalp  in  my  face, 
telling  me,  "  That  is  your  great  captain's."  An  old  squaw  (whose  appear- 
ance every  way  answered  the  idea  people  entertained  of  the  devil)  got  a 
board,  and  took  a  parcel  of  coals  and  ashes  and  laid  them  on  his  back 
and  head  after  he  had  been  scalped.  He  then  raised  upon  his  feet  and 
began  to  walk  round  the  post.  They  next  put  a  burning  stick  to  him,  but 
he  seemed  more  insensible  to  pain  than  before.  After  he  expired,  his 
body  was  thrown  into  the  fire  and  consumed  to  ashes.' " 

One  of  the  earliest  settlers  was  David  Morgan,  a  man  of 
great  energy  of  character  and  sterling  worth.  He  was  a  near 
relative  of  General  Morgan,  of  Revolutionary  memory. 

"At  the  time  we  speak  of,  Mr.  Morgan  was  living  near  Prickett's  Fort, 
about  twelve  miles  above  Morgantown  and  clos6  to  the  Monongahela  River. 
He  was  then  sixty  years  of  age,  and  for  some  days  had  been  slightly  in- 
disposed. Early  in  April,  1779,  he  desired  two  of  his  children,  Stephen,  six- 
teen years  of  age,  and  Sarah,  about  fourteen,  to  feed  the  stock  at  his  farm, 
distant  about  one  mile  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.    This  he  did  in 


EARLY  SETTLEMENTS.  85 

consequence  of  feeling  worse  that  morning  than  usual.  No  Indians  had 
yet  been  seen  in  the  neighborhood,  and,  of  course,  he  considered  all  per- 
fectly safe.  As  the  weather  was  fine,  the  brother  and  sister  concluded  to 
remain  and  prepare  a  piece  of  ground  for  melons.  Soon  after  they  left  the 
fort — ^for  they  were  then  at  the  stockade — Mr.  Morgan  lay  down,  and 
shortly  falling  to  sleep  dreamed  that  he  saw  the  children  walking  before 
him  scalped.  This  vision  awoke  him,  and  finding  upon  inquiry  that  the 
children  had  not  returned,  he  became  uneasy  and  started  immediately  in 
hunt  of  them.  Approaching  the  premises,  he  beheld  his  children  busily 
engaged  in  the  manner  already  indicated. 

"  Seating  himself  upon  a  log  close  at  hand,  Morgan  watched  his  chil- 
dren for  some  time,  when  suddenly  he  saw  emerge  from  the  house  two  In- 
dians, who  moved  rapidly  up  toward  Stephen  and  his  sister.  Fearing  to 
alarm  the  children,  Morgan  cautiously  warned  them  of  their  danger  and 
told  them  to  go  at  once  to  the  fort.  They  instantly  obeyed,  and  the  Indians, 
discovering  their  movements,  gave  their  accustomed  whoop  and  started 
in  pursuit.  Morgan,  having  hitherto  escaped  their  attention,  now  arose, 
and  returning  their  shout  caused  the  savages  to  seek  behind  trees  instant 
protection. 

"  Knowing  that  the  chances  for  a  fair  fight  were  almost  hopeless, 
Morgan  thought  to  escape  by  running,  and  so  manage  as  to  keep  the  trees  be- 
tween himself  and  the  enemy.  In  this,  however,  he  was  mistaken.  Im- 
paired health  'and  the  infirmities  of  age  disabled  him  from  keeping  long 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  fleet  and  athletic  warriors.  Finding,  after  a  run 
of  some  two  hundred  yards,  that  the  savages  were  rapidly  gaining  on  him, 
he  determined  to  shoot  one  and  take  his  chances  with  the  other.  Turning 
to  fire,  both  Indians  sprang  behind  trees,  and  Morgan  did  the  same ;  but 
finding  the  tree  he  first  gained  too  small  to  protect  his  person,  he  quitted  it 
and  made  for  another,  which  was  reached  in  safety. 

"  One  of  the  Indians,  hoping  to  get  nearer  his  intended  victim,  ran  to 
the  tree  which  Morgan  had  left,  but  finding  it  too  small,  threw  himself  be- 
hind a  log  close  at  hand.  This,  however,  did  not  conceal  him  entirely, 
which  Morgan  noticing,  instantly  fired,  and  shot  the  savage  through  the 
part  exposed.  Feeling  himself  mortally  wounded,  with  more  than  Spartan 
fortitude  the  Indian  drew  his  knife  and  inflicted  two  deep  stabs  upon  his 
breast.  To  him  death  had  no  terrors,  save  as  dealt  by  the  hand  of  his 
white  antagonist. 


86  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

"The  heroic  old  man  having  thus  effectually  disposed  of  one  of  his 
pursuers,  again  resorted  to  flight.  The  chances  were  now  desperate,  as  the 
Indian  had  the  double  advantage  of  tomahawk  and  rifle.  Running  fifty  or 
sixty  yards,  he  glanced  hurriedly  over  his  shoulder  just  in  time  to  see  the 
savage  ready  to  fire.  Jumping  to  one  side,  the  ball  passed  harmlessly  by, 
and  the  two  felt  that  the  combat  must  be  brought  to  close  quarters.  With 
all  the  fury  of  his  nature  the  savage  rushed  upon  his  adversary  with  loud 
yells  and  uplifted  tomahawk.  Morgan  prepared  to  meet  him  with  his  gun, 
but  the  savage  aimed  a  blow  with  his  tomahawk  with  such  force  and  effect 
as  to  knock  the  rifle  from  Morgan's  grasp,  and  cut  two  of  the  fingers  from 
his  left  hand.  They  now  clinched,  and  the  combat  became  equal,  except  the 
savage  was  the  younger  and  much  more  powerful  of  the  two.  Frantic  at 
the  loss  of  his  companion  and  his  own  ill  success,  he  fought  with  a  despera- 
tion rarely  known  in  a  single  combat.  Morgan,  on  the  other  part,  inspirited 
by  the  success  which  had  thus  far  attended  him,  nerved  his  arm  and  strung 
every  muscle  to  the  conflict,  resolved  to  kill  his  combatant  or  sell  his  life 
as  dearly  as  possible.  Our  hero  in  his  younger  days  had  been  a  most  ex- 
pert wrestler,  and  was  thus  enabled  with  ease  to  throw  the  Indian ;  but  the 
latter,  more  active  and  powerful,  readily  turned  him.  With  a  yell  of  exulta- 
tion the  savage  now  held  his  adversary  down  and  began  to  feel  for  his  knife. 
Morgan  saw  the  movement,  and  well  knew  all  would  be  over  if  the  savage 
got  possession  of  it. 

"  The  Indian  was  prevented  getting  the  knife  by  a  woman's  apron, 
which  he  had  wrapped  around  his  body  in  such  a  manner  as  to  confine  the 
handle.  Whilst  endeavoring  to  extricate  it  Morgan  got  one  of  the  Indian's 
thumbs  between  his  teeth,  and  so  effectually  ground  it  that  the  poor  wretch 
was  sadly  disconcerted,  and  more  than  once  screamed  with  pain.  Finally 
he  grasped  his  knife,  but  so  close  to  the  blade  that  Morgan,  noticing  it, 
caught  the  end  of  the  handle  and  drew  it  through  the  Indian's  hand,  cutting 
it  severely.  The  savage  was  now  literally  hors  de  cotnbat,  and,  springing 
to  his  feet,  endeavored  to  get  away ;  but  the  resolute  Morgan,  not  yet  hav- 
ing done  with  him,  held  on  to  the  thumb  until  he  had  inflicted  a  mortal 
thrust  in  the  side  of  the  enemy.  Letting  go,  the  Indian  sank  almost  life- 
less to  the  ground,  and  Morgan  made  his  way  to  the  fort." 

Captain  Samuel  Brady  resided  at  one  time  in  Wellsburg. 
He  was  tall,  rather  slender,  and  very  active.     He  usually  wore 


EARL  Y  SE TTLEMENTS.  87 

instead  of  a  hat,  a  black  handkerchief  around  his  head.     From 
his  pecuHar  appearance,  he  was  well  known  to  the  Indians. 

"A  party  of  Indians  having  made  an  inroad  into  the  Sewickley  settle- 
ment, committing  barbarous  murders  and  carrying  off  some  prisoners, 
Brady  set  off  in  pursuit  with  only  five  men  and  his  pet  Indian.-  He  came 
up  with  them,  and  discovered  that  they  were  encamped  on  the  banks  of 
the  Mahoning.  Having  reconnoitered  their  position,  Brady  posted  his 
men,  and  in  the  deepest  silence  awaited  the  break  of  day,  when  the  In- 
dians arose  and  stood  around  their  fires.  At  a  given  signal  seven  rifles 
cracked,  and  five  Indians  were  dead.  The  remaining  Indians  instantly 
disappeared. 

•'  Brady  being  out  with  his  party  on  one  occasion,  had  reached  Slip- 
pery Rock  Creek,  a  branch  of  the  Beaver,  without  seeing  signs  of  Indians. 
Here,  however,  he  came  on  an  Indian  trail  in  the  evening,  which  he  fol- 
lowed till  dark,  without  overtaking  the  Indians.  The  next  morning  he 
renewed  his  pursuit,  and  overtook  them  while  they  were  engaged  at  their 
morning  meal.  Unfortunately  for  him  another  party  of  Indians  were  in 
his  rear.  They  had  fallen  upon  his  trail  and  pursued  him,  doubtless  with 
as  much  ardor  as  had  characterized  his  own  pursuit.  At  the  moment  he 
fired  upon  the  Indians  in  his  front,  he  was  in  turn  fired  upon  by  those  in 
his  rear.  He  was  now  between  two  fires,  and  vastly  outnumbered.  Two 
of  his  men  fell,  his  tomahawk  was  shot  from  his  side,  and  the  battle  yell 
was  given  by  the  party  in  his  rear,  and  loudly  returned  and  repeated  by 
those  in  his  front.  There  was  no  time  for  hesitation,  no  safety  in  delay, 
no  chance  for  successful  defense  in  their  present  position.  Brady  ran  to- 
wards the  creek.  He  was  known  by  many,  if  not  by  all  of  them ;  and 
there  were  the  scores  to  be  settled  between  him  and  them.  They  knew 
the  country  well ;  he  did  not,  and  from  his  running  towards  the  creek 
they  were  certain  of  taking  him  prisoner.  The  creek  was,  for  a  long  dis- 
tance above  and  below  the  point  he  was  approaching,  washed  in  its  chan- 
nel to  a  great  depth.  In  the  certain  expectation  of  catching  him  there, 
the  private  soldiers  of  his  party  were  disregarded ;  and  throwing  down 
their  guns  and  drawing  their  tomahawks,  all  pressed  forward  to  seize  their 
victim.  Quick  of  eye,  fearless  of  heart,  and  determined  never  to  be  a 
captive  to  the  Indians,  Brady  comprehended  their  object  and  his  only 
chance  for  escape  the  moment  he  saw  the  creek ;  and  by  one  mighty  effort 


88  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

of  courage  and  activity,  defeated  the  one  and  effected  the  other.  He 
sprang  across  the  abyss  of  waters,  and  stood  rifle  in  hand  on  the  oppo- 
site bank  in  safety.  As  quick  as  lightning  his  rifle  was  primed,  for  it  was 
his  invariable  practice  in  loading,  to  prime  first.  The  next  minute  the 
powder-horn  was  at  the  gun's  muzzle ;  when,  as  he  was  in  this  act,  a  large 
Indian,  who  had  been  foremost  in  the  pursuit,  came  to  the  opposite  bank, 
and  with  the  manliness  of  a  generous  foe  who  scorns  to  undervalue  the 
qualities  of  an  enemy,  said,  in  a  loud  voice  and  tolerable  English :  '  Blady 
make  good  jump.' 

"  His  leap  was  about  twenty-three  feet,  and  the  water  was  twenty  feet 
deep.  Brady's  next  effort  was  to  gather  up  his  men.  They  immediately 
commenced  their  homeward  march,  and  returned  to  Pittsburg  about  half 
defeated.  Three  Indians  had  been  seen  to  fall  from  the  fire  they  gave 
them  at  breakfast." 

Another  famous  border  hero  was  Lewis  Wetzel,  the  son  of 
John  Wetzel,  a  German,  who  settled  on  Big  Wheeling  Creek, 
about  fourteen  miles  from  the  Ohio  River,  and  was  killed  by 
the  Indians  in  1777,  when  Lewis  was  about  twenty-three  years 
of  age.  The  education  of  Lewis,  like  most  of  his  contem- 
poraries, was  that  of  the  hunter  and  warrior.  When  a  boy,  he 
adopted  the  practice  of  loading  and  firing  his  rifle  as  he  ran. 
On  account  of  his  father's  death,  he  and  his  brothers,  of  whom 
he  had  five,  vowed  sleepless  vengeance  against  the  whole 
Indian  race. 

"  During  the  life-time  of  his  father,  when  he  was  about  thirteen  years 
of  age,  Lewis  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians,  together  with  his  brother 
Jacob,  about  eleven  years  old.  Before  he  was  taken  he  received  a  slight 
wound  in  the  breast  from  a  bullet,  which  carried  off  a  small  piece  of  his 
breast-bone.  The  second  night  after  they  were  taken,  the  Indians  en- 
camped at  Big  Lick,  twenty  miles  from  the  river,  on  the  waters  of  Mc- 
Mechen's  Creek.  The  boys  were  not  confined.  After  the  Indians  had 
fallen  asleep,  Lewis  whispered  to  his  brother  Jacob  that  he  must  get  up 
and  go  back  home  with  him.  Jacob  at  first  objected,  but  afterwards  got 
up  and  went  along  with  him.    When  they  had  gone  about  one  hundred 


EARLY  SETTLEMENTS.  89 

yards  from  the  camp,  they  sat  down  on  a  log.  '  Well,'  said  Lewis,  *  we  can 
not  go  home  barefooted ;  I  will  go  back  and  get  a  pair  of  moccasins  for 
each  of  us,'  and  accordingly  did  so,  and  returned.  After  sitting  a  little 
longer,  '  Now,'  said  he,  '  I  will  go  back  and  get  father's  gun,  and  then  we 
will  start.'  This  he  effected.  They  had  not  traveled  far  on  the  trail  by 
which  they  came  before  they  heard  the  Indians  coming  after  them.  It 
was  a  moonlight  night.  When  the  Indians  came  pretty  near  them,  they 
stepped  aside  into  the  bushes,  let  them  pass,  then  fell  into  the  rear  and 
traveled  on.  The  next  day  they  reached  Wheeling  in  safety,  crossing  from 
the  Indian  shore  to  Wheeling  Island  on  a  raft  of  their  own  making.  By 
this  time  Lewis  had  been  almost  spent  from  his  wound. 

"  Belmont  County,  Ohio,  was  the  scene  of  several  of  the  most  daring 
adventures  of  this  far-famed  borderer.  Once  while  hunting,  Wetzel  fell 
in  with  a  young  man  who  lived  on  Dunkard  Creek,  and  was  persuaded  to 
accompany  him  to  his  home.  On  their  arrival  they  found  the  house  in 
ruins  and  all  the  family  murdered,  except  a  young  woman  who  had  been 
bred  with  them,  and  to  whom  the  young  man  was  ardently  attached.  She 
was  taken  alive,  as  was  found  by  examining  the  trail  of  the  enemy,  who 
were  three  Indians  and  a  white  renegade.  Burning  with  revenge,  they 
followed  the  trail,  until  opposite  the  mouth  of  Captina,  where  the  enemy 
had  crossed.  They  swam  the  stream,  and  discovered  the  Indian  camp,  around 
the  fires  of  which  lay  the  enemy  in  careless  repose.  The  young  woman 
was  apparently  unhurt,  but  was  making  much  moaning  and  lamentation. 
Th«  young  man,  hardly  able  to  restrain  his  rage,  was  for  firing  and  rushing 
instantly  upon  them.  Wetzel,  mqre  cautious,  told  him  to  wait  until  daylight, 
when  there  would  be  a  better  chance  of  success  in  killing  the  whole  party. 
After  dawn  the  Indians  prepared  to  depart.  The  young  man  selecting  the 
white  renegade,  and  Wetzel  the  Indian,  they  both  fired  simultaneously, 
with  fatal  efifect  The  young  man  rushed  forward,  knife  in  hand,  to  re- 
lieve the  mistress  of  his  affections,  while  Wetzel  reloaded  and  pursued 
the  two  surviving  Indians,  who  had  taken  to  the  woods  until  they  could 
ascertain  the  number  of  their  enemies.  Wetzel,  as  soon  as  he  was  dis- 
covered, discharged  his  rifle  at  random,  in  order  to  draw  them  from  their 
covert.  The  ruse  took  effect,  and  taking  to  his  heels,  he  loaded  as  he 
ran,  and  suddenly  wheeling  about,  discharged  his  rifle  through  the  body 
of  his  nearest  and  unsuspecting  enemy.  The  remaining  Indian,  seeing 
the  fate  of  his  companion,  and  that  his  enemy's  gun  was  unloaded,  rushed 


90  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

forward  with  all  energy,  the  prospect  of  prompt  revenge  being  fairly  be- 
fore him.  Wetzel  led  him  on,  dodging  from  tree  to  tree,  until  his  rifle 
was  again  ready,  when  suddenly  turning,  he  fired,  and  his  remaining  en- 
emy fell  dead  at  his  feet.  After  taking  their  scalps,  Wetzel  and  his  friend, 
with  their  rescued  captive,  returned  in  safety  to  the  settlement. 

"  In  the  year  1782,  after  Crawford's  defeat,  Lewis  went  with  a  Thomas 
Mills,  who  had  been  in  the  campaign,  to  get  his  horse,  which  he  had  left 
near  the  place  where  St.  Clairsville  now  stands.  At  the  Indian  springs,  two 
miles  from  St.  Clairsville,  on  the  Wheeling  road,  they  were  met  by  about 
forty  Indians,  who  were  in  pursuit  of  the  stragglers  from  the  campaign. 
The  Indians  and  the  white  men  discovered  each  other  about  the  same  mo- 
ment. Lewis  fired  first  and  killed  an  Indian,  while  the  Indians  wounded 
Mills  in  the  heel,  who  was  soon  overtaken  and  killed.  Four  of  the  Indians 
then  singled  out,  dropped  their  guns,  and  pursued  Wetzel.  Wetzel  loaded  his 
rifle  as  he  ran.  After  running  about  half  a  mile,  one  of  the  Indians  having 
gotten  within  eight  or  ten  steps  of  him,  Wetzel  wheeled  round  and  shot  him 
down,  ran  and  loaded  his  gun  as  before.  After  running  about  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  further,  a  second  Indian  came  so  close  to  him  that,  when  he 
turned  to  fire,  the  Indian  caught  the  muzzle  of  his  gun,  and,  as  he  expressed 
it,  'he  and  the  Indian  had  a  severe  wring.'  He,  however,  succeeded  in 
bringing  the  muzzle  to  the  Indian's  breast,  and  killed  him  on  the  spot.  By 
this  time  he,  as  well  as  the  Indian,  was  pretty  well  tired  out ;  yet  the  pursuit 
was  continued  by  the  two  remaining  Indians.  Wetzel,  as  before,  loaded  his 
gun  and  stopped  several  times  during  this  latter  chase ;  when  he  did  so  the 
Indians  treed  themselves.  After  going  something  more  than  a  mile,  Wetzel 
took  advantage  of  a  little  open  piece  of  ground  over  which  the  Indians 
were  passing,  a  short  distance  behind  him,  to  make  a  sudden  stop  for  the 
purpose  of  shooting  the  foremost,  who  got  behind  a  little  sapling  which 
was  too  small  to  cover  his  body.  Wetzel  shot  and  broke  his  thigh.  The 
wound,  in  the  issue,  proved  fatal.  The  last  of  the  Indians  then  gave  a  little 
yell,  and  said,  '  No  catch  that  man,  gun  always  loaded,'  and  gave  up  the 
chase,  glad,  no  doubt,  to  get  off  with  his  life." 

In  1779  Stephen  Collins,  of  Halifax  County,  Virginia,  "long 
hunter  of  deer-skins,"  who  had  for  years  followed  his  uncertain 
calling  in  the  wild  region  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  with  five  of  his 
brothers  (only  one  unmarried)  an!  a  brother-in-law,  removed  \o 


•  1  -t  •) 
>  >  J  J 


EARL  Y  SETTLEMENTS.  91 

Kentucky.  The  writer  has  often  heard  his  son  (Judge  Joel  Col- 
Hns,  of  Oxford,  Ohio),  tell  the  story  of  the  transit  over  the 
mountains.*  Two  feather-beds,  .securely  and  tightly  rolled,  were 
slung  on  a  horse  and  so  arranged,  one  on  each  side,  that  the 
larger  children  could  climb  on  to  the  secure  perch  when  weary 
or  footsore  from  the  long  march.  The  gentlest  horses  had 
pack-saddles  made  of  two  large  split  hampers,  in  each  of  which 
two  children  fitted.  The  pack-horses  of  rougher  tempers  car- 
ried corn-meal,  bacon,  salt,  camp  furniture,  and  the  clothing  of 
the  entire  party.  In  addition  there  was  a  horse  for  each  woman. 
The  five  families  had  over  twenty  horses  and  some  fifty  head  of 
cattle.  The  baggage-train  was  packed  for  the  day's  march  while 
the  women  dressed  the  children  and  cooked  the  breakfast.  The 
cattle  were  driven  in  the  van,  and  the  long  train  of  horses  came 
on  in  single  file,  two  of  the  men  walking  behind  to  rearrange 
breaks  and  pick  up  any  mischjevous  urchin  who  managed  to  slip 
out  of  the  hampers.  The  party  of  brothers  first  settled  at  Bow- 
man's Station,  on  Dick's  Creek,  which  they  reached  "in  fairly 
good  condition,  although  for  most  of  the  journey  they  had  no 
meat  except  such  game  as  the  hunters  could  find,  and  to  find 
any  they  had  sometimes  to  make  long  excursions  away  from 
the  rough  trail  upon  which  the  cattle  and  horses  must  be  kept." 
From  the  time  of  their  arrival  in  Kentucky  they  "dressed  in 
deer-skins,  made  their  beds  of  buffalo-skins  stretched  on  rough 
wood  frames,  with   the  woolly  side  up,    and  had  for   covering 


*The  stalwart  figure  and  genial,  kindly  face  of  the  "  Old  Judge  "  will  be  remembered  by 
ever>'  student  of  Miami  University,  where,  for  so  many  years,  he  was  custodian  of  the  build- 
ings and  superintendent  of  the  grounds  and  lands.  In  his  youth  a  good  soldier  and  a  daring 
scout,  from  his  sixteenth  year  he  was  in  every  battle  where  the  collected  force  of  Kentucky 
fought  the  Indians.  He  lived  through  the  "hard  times"  of  the  West,  a  rough,  rugged  life 
of  want  and  self-denial ;  but  the  metal  in  the  man  was  so  fine  that  he  had  brought  through  it 
a  character  fashioned  for  all  noble  uses  upon  the  anvil  of  adversity. 


g2  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

a  second  buffalo-skin  with  the  wool  turned  down."  Their  shirts 
were  made  from  a  species  of  nettle  which  were  beaten  to  a  lint 
that  could  be  spun  into  yarn. 

Indians  were  constantly  prowling  about  the  station,  and  occa- 
sionally a  messenger  or  a  hunter  was  shot  and  scalped  near  the 
fort.  The  Collins  families  had  not  been  long  in  Kentucky  before 
the  brothers  were  called  out  with  the  militia,  under  General  George 
Rogers  Clark,  to  "  make  a  raid  into  the  Indian  country  on  the 
north  of  the  Ohio,  and  put  down  with  the  strong  hand  the  skulk- 
ing varmints  who  were  murdering  peaceable  settlers."  The 
special  provocation  was  the  capture  of  Alexander  McConnell,  an 
express-rider  from  Lexington . 

"The  Indians  shot  his  horse  under  him,  tied  his  hands  behind  him,  and 
drove  him  at  a  run  to  their  hiding-place  on  the  Licking.  A  scouting  party 
from  the  station  found  the  dead  horse,  and  so  we  knew  he  was  a  prisoner. 
I  was  only  a  little  fellow  about  eight  years  old,  but  I  remember  yet  the 
rumpus*  at  the  station  the  week 'after  his  capture,  when  some  of  our  men, 
who  were  in  the  field  near  by,  saw  a  wretched  object,  with  a  few  rags  around 
him,  coming  towards  them.  They  halted  him  with  their  rifles  up  at  sight, 
when  he  called  out,  *  I  am  Alec  McConnell.'  I  never  can  forget  how  the  women 
and  we  youngsters  run,  and  how  we  crowded  around  after  he  had  some- 
thing to  eat,  to  hear  his  story.  He  had  been  with  them  three  days  when  he 
got  away.  That  third, night,  when  the  Indians  were  sleeping,  he  managed  to 
slip  his  hands  out  of  the  thongs  (he  had  mighty  small  hands),  then  he 
untied  his  legs  from  the  stakes  to  which  they  were  fastened,  and  got  hold 
of  the  Indians'  guns.  One  by  one  he  pulled  them  over  to  him.  He  put  one 
gun  on  each  knee,  with  the  muzzles  almost  touching  the  heads  of  the  two 
nearest  to  him ;  then,  as  soon  as  he  fired,  he  snatched  up  the  loaded  rifles 
one  by  one,  and  killed  three  more.  He  thought  he  marked  some  of  the 
skunks  that  got  away ;  but  they  run  so  fast  he  was  n't  sure,  and  he  had  no 
time  to  lose  looking,  as  they  were  all  on  the  other  side  of  the  Ohio.  He 
had  to  do  his  best  to  get  over  to  this  side  before  daylight.  He  picked  out 
a  splendid  tomahawk  and  the  best  rifle,  broke  the  locks  of  the  others,  and 
got  back  to  the  station  without  meeting  either  Indian  or  white  man." 


EARL  Y  SE  TTLEMENTS.  93 

In  1780,  when  General  George  Rogers  Clark  called  out  the 
militia  for  a  "defensive  raid  to  the  Indian  villages,"  Stephen 
Collins  and  his  brothers  went  with  the  Lexington  company. 
Clark's  command  consisted  of  two  regiments.  One,  commanded 
by  Colonel  Ben  Logan,  assembled  at  Bryant's  Spring,  eight  miles 
from  Lexington,  and  marched  down  the  Licking  to  its  mouth; 
the  other,  commanded  by  Colonel  Wm.  Linn,  marched  from  the 
falls,  up  the  Ohio  to  the  Licking.  The  transportation  of  artil- 
lery, provisions,  and  military  stores  was  in  skiffs,  under  charge 
of  Colonel  George  Slaughter,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  troops, 
raised  in  Virginia.  The  entire  force  consisted  of  one  thousand 
men.  They  crossed  the  Ohio,  2d  of  August,  1780,  and  marched 
to  the  Indian  towns  with  a  six-pound  howitzer,  for  which  a  way 
through  the  forest  had  to  be  opened.  On  the  6th  they  reached 
Chillicothe,  on  the  Little  Miami.  The  Indian  town  was  aban- 
doned, and  still  burning.  They  arrived  at  Piqua,  on  the  north 
bank  of  Mad  River,  on  the  8th ;  had  a  severe  fight  with  the  In- 
dians ;  took  the  town,  burnt  it,  and  destroyed  the  growing  corn. 
As  Judge  Collins  told  the  story,  Clark  avoided  an  ambuscade  by 
returning  across  the  country  by  a  different  route,  to  their  point 
of  departure  at  the  Licking.  Soon  after  the  CoUins's  return  they 
moved  to  Lexington. 

Joel  CoUins's  first  school-master  was  John  McKinney,  better 
known  in  Kentucky  as  "Wildcat  McKinney."  He  had  been 
disabled  in  the  fight  at  Point  Pleasant,  in  1774,  where  he  was 
one  of  the  Virginia  riflemen.  He  was  shot  through  both  thighs, 
and  fell.  His  party  were  driven  a  short  distance,  and  he  was 
left  lying  about  half-way  between  the  combatants,  who  fought 
Indian  fashion,  from  the  cover  of  a  tree.  McKinney  made  an 
effort  to  crawl  back  to  the  riflemen,  when  he  was  seen  by  an 


94  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

Indian,  and  another  shot  shattered  his  left  arm  so  badly  that  the 
splintered  bone  stuck  in  the  bark  of  a  paw-paw  bush  to  which 
he  was  holding.  The  Indians  made  a  rush  with  their  toma- 
hawks, but  the  Virginians  came  to  his  relief.  Beating  back  the 
Indians,  they  carried  him  off  safely.  In  the  last  part  of  this 
hand-to-hand  fray  he  had  two  ribs  broken  by  the  stroke  of  a 
tomahawk.  Thinking  his  fighting  days  were  over,  he  took  up 
the  occupation  of  a  school-master  and  came  out  to  Kentucky. 
One  morning  in  June  the  women  of  the  station  were  up  very  early 
milking  the  cows,  when  Mrs.  Collins  called  to  her  husband : 

"Stephen!  Stephen!  run  over  to  the  school-house;  some- 
thing's the  matter  with  the  master." 

Mr.  Collins,  with  Joel  at  his  heels,  ran  over  without  loss  of 
time.  The  door  was  open,  and  Collins  asked :  "  What  's  the 
matter?"  McKinney  sung  out:  "It's  an  ugly  baste  tryin'  to 
kill  me ;  but  I  've  got  him  purty  well  whipped."  And  he  went 
on  plugging  away  with  his  lame  left  hand  into  the  side  of  an 
animal  which  he  held  doubled  up  in  his  right  arm,  and  pressed 
against  the  table,  although  its  teeth  were  clinched  in  his  breast 
a  little  below  his  throat.  Mr.  Collins  did  his  best  to  help  him, 
but  he  insisted:  "Wait  until  I  get  to  the  door,  so  you  can  see  how 
to  take  the  pesky  thing's  teeth  out  of  me  breast-bone."  It  took 
all  Mr.  Collins's  knowledge  of  surgery  to  free  the  school-master. 
"  Wildcat  McKinney "  moved  from  Kentucky  to  Missouri 
in  1820. 

Young  Joel  Collins  began  his  career  as  an  Indian  fighter  in 
1 79 1,  in  the  expedition  to  the  Indian  towns  on  the  Wabash. 
This  gave  him  "  a  liking  for  the  army,"  and  he  enlisted  in  the 
"pack-horse  brigade,"  which  was  constantly  on  the  march,  tak- 
ing supplies  to  the  advanced  posts  on  the   Miami.     He  was  at 


EARLY  SETTLEMENTS.  95 

Fort  Hamilton  when  Little  Turtle  and  his  warriors  struck  the 
war-pole,  and  took  the  trail  for  Columbia.  On  their  return  they 
made  a  night  attack  on  the  "pack-horse  brigade"  encampment. 
There  was  severe  and  close  fighting  until  daylight,  when  the 
guns  from  the  fort  were  effective,  and  the  Indians  retreated. 
During  the  fight  one  of  his  comrades  was  badly  wounded,  and 
he  would  have  been  tomahawked  and  scalped  had  not  Joel  Col- 
lins brought  him  on  his  back  to  the  shelter  of  the  fort.  To  use 
the  vernacular  of  the  time,  "  he  was  a  born  soldier."  Like  the 
war-horse,  "  he  smelleth  the  battle  from  afar,"  and  the  writer  has 
often  heard  him  say  that  "  the  deepest  regret  of  his  life  was  that 
he  had  not  fought  in  the  Revolution  under  Washington,"  a 
natural  regret  when  one  understands  the  times  in  which  he 
lived.  For  although  the  Western  pioneers  were  out  of  the  way 
of  the  fight  when  the  Revolution  began,  for  them  to  stay  out  of 
the  fray  was  wholly  impossible.  The  blood  of  the  men  who 
fought  at  Deny  was  in  their  veins ;  and  that  blood  never  ran 
slowly  or  grew  cold  when  burning  powder  scented  the  air.  They 
were  hundreds  of  miles  away  from  the  sea-board ;  but  here  and 
there  a  solitary  hunter  crossed  the  mountain-chain  alone  to  join 
the  rebels  under  Washington ;  or  little  groups  of  two  or  three 
fell  together  by  the  way,  and  marched  steadily  over  the  ridges 
and  through  the  winding  ravines,  until,  from  the  Blue  Mountain 
Heights,  they  looked  down  upon  the  very  center  of  the  Old 
Dominion,  that  fair  county  of  Albemarle,  which  was  the  birth- 
place of  the  most  resolute  soldier  and  daring  leader  who  ever 
headed  a  foray  into  the  Indian  country. 

"  When  the  Independence  of  the  Colonies  was  secured,  but 
few  of  these  frontiersmen  had  won  through  the  battles  and  the 
winter  at  Valley   Forge.     None   of  the   survivors  were    above 


96  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

want.  This  poverty  of  the  soldiers  was  imposed  by  circum- 
stances. The  times  were  in  fault.  Continental  money  was 
worthless.  Six  years  of  service  left  them  nothing.  Maimed, 
ragged,  and  foot-sore,  men  returned  to  the  little  farms,  where 
the  outlying  fields  were  wastes,  and  only  the  patches  of  corn 
around  the  cabins  told  the  story  of  how  brave  women  had  fought 
the  battle  of  life  for  their  children  during  the  long  years  of  self- 
dependence.     To  quote  from  a  trustworthy  historian  of  the  time : 

"  If  want  of  provisions  or  other  causes  made  a  visit  to  a  neighbour's 
necessary,  a  settler's  wife  must  either  take  her  children  with  her  through 
the  woods,  or  leave  them  unprotected,  under  the  most  fearful  apprehen- 
sion that  some  mischief  might  befall  them  before  her  return.  As  bread 
and  meat  were  scarce,  milk  was  the  principal  dependence  for  the  support 
of  the  family.  One  cow  of  each  family  was  provided  with  a  bell,  which 
could  be  heard  from  half  a  mile  to  a  mile,  and  in  the  mornings  the 
mother  placed  herself  in  the  most  favorable  position  for  listening  to  her 
cow-bell,  which  she  knew  as  well  as  she  did  the  voice  of  her  child.  She 
could  detect  her  own  even  among  a  clamour  of  many  other  bells,  thus  man- 
ifesting a  nicety  of  ear  which,  with  cultivation,  might  have  been  envied 
by  the  best  musicians. 

"  If  her  children  were  small,  she  tied  them  in  bed  to  prevent  them  from 
wandering,  and  to  guard  them  from  danger  from  fire  and  snakes ;  then, 
guided  by  the  tinkling  of  the  bell,  made  her  way  through  the  tall  meads, 
and  across  the  ravines>  until  she  found  the  object  of  her^  search ;  happy 
on  her  return  to  find  her  children  unharmed." 

To  glance  for  a  moment  at  the  position  of  the  River  Clearings, 
we  find  that  the  settlements  of  the  Scotch-Irish  from  Bedford, 
York  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia,  with  a  few  families  directly 
from  the  North  of  Ireland,  soon  extended  from  the  Monongahela 
to  the  Ohio.  Their  route  was  the  barely  practicable  road  called 
Braddock's  trail. 

Uncertain  of  the  boundaries  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania, 


EARLY  SETTLEMENTS.  97 

few  applied  for  land-warrants,  although  Lord  Dun  more  had 
opened  offices  for  the  granting  of  warrants  within  the  bounds  of 
what  are  now  the  four  western  counties  of  Pennsylvania.  They 
were,  however,  afterwards  recognized  as  actual  settlers,  and  thus 
entitled  to  farms  not  exceeding  four  hundred  acres. 

At  the  close  of  Pontiac's  War,  in  the  fall  of  1763-64,  the 
stream  of  emigration  was  greatly  enlarged.  In  the  Historical 
Sketches  of  Western  Presbyterianism,  the  author  says: 

"  It  was  a  remarkable  circumstance  that  between  Mr.  Smith's  congre- 
gations and  the  Ohio,  and  along  up  and  down  the  river  for  thirty  or  forty 
miles  below  Pittsburg,  there  was  early  settled,  or  'squatted'  rather,  a  pe- 
culiar population,  many  of  them  from  Eastern  Virginia,  well-suited  from 
their  habits  and  training  as  hunters,  and  from  their  adoption  0/ the  In- 
dian modes  of  warfare,  to  fight  with  the  savages,  and  to  act  as  a  life-guard, 
as  a  protecting  cordon,  to  Mr.  Smith's  people,  and  to  the  interior  set- 
tlements. 

In  counting  them  up  by  families,  he  mentions  in  the  Life 
Guard,  "  the  Bradys,  the  Wetzels,  and  the  Poes,''  then  he  goes  on 
telling  of  "  a  glorious  work  of  grace  began  and  long  continued 
in  that  vineyard  which  God  had  so  strangely  fenced  around." 
He  again  singles  out  for  special  mention  **  Mr.  Smith,"  whose 
"dress  was  always  neat  and  becoming.  His  voice  was  remarkable 
alike  for  the  terrific  and  the  pathetic  (the  italics  are  preserved  not 
inserted),  and  as  Dr.  Kirkland  said  of  the  celebrated  Fisher 
Ames,  '  now  like  the  thunder,  and  now  like  the  music'of  heaven,' " 
then  he  continues :  "  I  never  heard  a  man  who  could  so  com- 
pletely unbar  the  gates  of  hell,  and  make  me  look  so  far  down 
into  the  dark,  bottomless  abyss."  The  historian,  after  further 
characterizing  his  pulpit  hero  as  one  who  left  "  the  cold  ratioci- 
nations of  logic  far  behind,"  grows  facetiously  comparative,  and 
tells  us  of  "old  Colonel  R — ,  of  Virginia,  who  "  used  to  say  that 

7 


98  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

he  liked  that  preacher  best  who  could  make  him  wish  that  he 
could  creep  into  an  augur-hole  before  the  preacher  was  done," 
and  he  clinches  this  with  another  indorsement:  "Robert  Morris, 
the  great  financier,  who  saved  the  credit  of  his  country  and 
ruined  his  own,  once  told  Dr.  Rush  that  he  '  liked  that  kind  of 
preaching  that  drives  a  man  into  the  corner  of  his  pew,  and  makes 
him  think  the  devil  is  after  him.'  He  would  have  been  delighted 
with  Mr.  Smith."  That  we  may  have  an  opportunity  to  prove 
the  authenticity  of  his  anecdotal  lore,  he  naively  refers  us  to  Haz- 
ard's Register,  Vol.  XII,  page  249. 

To  give  these  fiery  sectarists  their  due,  they  were  a  bold, 
hardy,  simple-minded  people;  ready  and  willing  to  toil  in  the 
fields  with  their  rifles  within  reach,  and  equally  ready  to  listen 
"to  the  preaching  of  the  Word"  with  the  same  rifles  in  their 
hands.  One  more  story  of  their  struggle  with  want  and  we 
will  see  that  there  was  a  full-hearted  generosity  in  the  composi- 
tion of  these  Irish  "seceders,"  who  are  immortalized  by  Virginia's 
sweetest  and  truest  poet,  in  three  lines : — 

"  Upon  their  dinted  shields,  no  crests ; 
No  glittering  orders  on  their  breasts, 
But  iron  in  their  blood." 

Mr.  Smith  had  found  a  spiritual  and  faithful  people,  but  they 
were  too  poor  to  pay  a  salary  which  would  support  his  family. 
He,  in  common  with  all,  must  cultivate  a  farm.  He  bought  one 
on  the  security  of  the  salary  pledged  by  his  congregation. 

Year  after  year  went  by  with  the  salary  unpaid.  The  last 
payment  was  due,  and  neither  the  preacher  nor  the  elders  could 
pay  it.  The  case  was  laid  before  the  people.  Mr.  Moore,  who 
owned  the  only  mill  in  the  country,  offered  to  grind  their  wheat 
(which  was   their   currency),    on    the   most   reasonable  terms. 


EARL  Y  SETTLEMENTS.  99 

Wheat  was  abundant,  but  it  could  not  be  sold  for  more  than 
twelve  and  a  half  cents  per  bushel,  in  cash ;  and  they  were  com- 
pelled to  bring  salt  across  the  mountains  at  an  exchange  of 
twenty-one  bushels  of  wheat  for  one  of  salt.  The  people  gave  gen- 
erously of  their  grain,  although  some  had  to  bring  it  from  sixteen 
to  twenty-six  miles  to  the  mill.  In  a  month  the  flour  was  ready 
to  go  to  market.  After  the  service  was  over  on  Sunday  (the  only 
day  in  the  week  on  which  all  the  people  were  gathered  together), 
the  question  was  asked :  "Who  will  run  the  flour  to  New  Orleans  ?" 
It  was  a  perilous  and  daring  venture.  Many  a  boat's  crew  had 
gone  down  the  river  without  even  on^  of  them  returning  to  tell 
where  the  others  had  perished.  The  young  men  were  silent,  and 
the  middle-aged  stammered  excuses,  which  all  who  shrunk  from 
the  undertaking  must  accept.  At  length  one  of  the  elders,  tall, 
brawny,  and  white-haired,  his  face  marked  with  the  toil  of  nearly 
seventy  years  arose  and  said  simply :  "  Here  am  I ;  send  me."  Pas- 
tor and  people  united  in  remonstrance,  but  the  old  man  was  firm. 
To  keep  their  pastor  and  release  his  home  from  debt  he  was  ready 
to  brave  danger  and  face  death.  Two  young  men  were  induced 
to  go  with  him,  and  pastor  and  people  together  marched  fifteen 
miles  to  the  river  to  say  "Godspeed"  to  the  brave  elder.  A 
prayer  was  made,  a  hymn  was  sung,  and  the  old  Scotchman  called 
out :  "  Untie  the  cable,  and  let  us  see  what  the  Lord  will  do 
for  us."  Nearly  ten  months  had  passed  without  a  word  from 
Elder  Smiley,  when  at  last  a  Sunday  came  when  the  people  found 
Father  Smiley  in  his  accustomed  seat.  After  the  services  the 
people  were  told  to  come  early  in  the  week  to  hear  the  report 
from  the  sales.  Monday  the  house  was  full,  and  after  thanks 
had  been  given  to  God,  the  old  man  rose  and  told  the  story  of 
his  mission.     He  had  sold  his  flour  for  twenty-seven   dollars  a 


lOO  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

barrel,  and  poured  upon  the  table  the  largest  pile  of  gold  ever 
seen  in  the  county. 

The  young  men  were  paid  a  hundred  dollars  apiece,  and 
Father  Smiley  was  asked  his  charges.  "He  thought,"  he  said, 
"that  he  ought  to  have  the  same  sum  as  each  of  the  others;"  but 
modestly  added,  "he  had  not  worked  as  hard."  When  the  money 
was  counted  there  was  enough  to  pay  Mr.  Smith's  entire  dues, 
to  advance  the  sum  of  his  next  year's  salary,  give  Father  Smiley 
three  hundred  dollars,  and  then  pay  a  dividend  to  each  con- 
tributor of  wheat. 

Up  to  1 793  the  frontier  was  a  constant  scene  of  hand-to-hand 
fights  and  Indian  inroads.  Gradually  the  savages  had  been 
driven  back,  until  the  Ohio  River  was  the  battle-line,  across 
which,  however,  a  daring  chief  would  occasionally  lead  a  wild 
raid  through  the  wilderness  tracts  between  the  sparse  settle- 
ments; or  a  solitary  warrior  would  come  on  a  "still  hunt"  for 
scalps,  and  lurk  in  the  wooded  thickets,  until  some  careless  bor- 
derer, who  had  built  his  lonely  cabin  in  the  forest  depths,  away 
from  the  protecting  block-house,  gave  the  chance  for  which  he 
was  waiting. 

The  Indians  loved  "The  White  Shining  River,"  and  the 
tribes  that  had  been  driven  from  its  neighborhood  retreated  to 
the  upper  waters  of  the  Scioto  and  the  Miamis,  that  the  warriors 
might  be  free  to  renew  the  contest  for  its  possession  without  the 
encumbrance  of  villages  to  protect;  and  so,  day  after  day,  some- 
where on  "  The  Beautiful  River,"  a  battle  was  fought,  or  a  fatal 
bullet  or  whizzing  tomahawk  struck  the  invader  of  the  hunting- 
grounds.  In  the  cool,  green  recesses  of  the  woods,  a  stealthy 
foe  would  sometimes  stalk  the  frontiersman,  who,  in  eager  pur- 
suit of  a  startled  deer,  forgot  to  be  watchful,  forgot  that  he  him- 


EARLY  SETTLEMj^NTS^      ipi 


•  •  • 
»  •  • 
» •  •  • 


self  was  game  to  be  hunted.  Yet,  even  then,  the  odds  were  not 
altogether  against  the  frontiersman,  if,  in  the  profound  stillness, 
when  he  stopped  to  sight  the  game,  a  sudden  snap  of  twig  or 
bough,  or  even  so  small  a  thing  as  the  fluttering  rustle  of  a 
broken  leaf,  told  the  acute  and  listening  senses  of  a  danger  to 
be  averted  or  confronted.  Even  then,  so  ready  was  he  in  the 
game,  so  determined  to  triumph  through  some  wily  device,  some 
trick  of  skill  he  had  learned  from  the  foe,  some  twist  or  turn  of 
the  hunter's  or  woodman's  art,  that — being  warned — the  odds 
were  even.  If  it  was  too  late  for  skill,  it  was  never  too  late  for 
daring.  If  the  rifle  snapped,  or  the  flint  failed,  he  would  turn  on 
his  antagonist  and  face  him  as  calmly  as  if  he  were  proof  against 
attack,  knowing  that  a  duel,  without  help  or  witness,  had  begun, 
and  that  one  of  the  duelists  would  never  leave  the  fateful  glade. 

The  frontiersmen  went  down  in  many  a  hand-to-hand  fight; 
yet  despite  their  losses,  they  were  in  time  the  owners  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  lords  paramount  of  the  river.  They  were  men  of 
determination  as  well  as  courage,  accustomed  to  hardship,  skilled 
in  all  the  strategy  of  the  border.  They  overmatched  the  Indian 
in  bodily  strength,  and  with  his  own  weapons  foiled  him  in  the 
game  of  war. 

They  were  a  product  of  race,  tempered  by  the  exigencies  of 
a  life  which  was  forced  to  win  its  innings  under  the  constant 
pressure  of  danger.  With  a  certain  show  of  justice,  they  in- 
sisted that  their  raids  upon  the  Indian  villages  were  raids  of  re- 
prisal, for  in  the  lexicon  of  the  frontier  a  war  of  defense  meant 
a  war  of  extermination. 

In  their  leather-belted  hunting-shirts,  furnished  with  sockets 
for  tomahawk,  knife,  and  pistol,  with  bullet-pouch,  powder-horn, 
and  hunting  cup,  thrown  across  a  brawny  chest,  and  carrying 


loa 


T^E,  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 


tvitli  ease  and  a  certain  careless  grace  a  heavy  rifle,  the  frontiers- 
men were  picturesque  and  stalwart  figures,  admirably  in  keeping- 
with  the  wild  background  of  vine-shrouded  trees  and  dim  forest 
aisles  in  which  history  and  fancy  has  framed  them.  They  be- 
longed to  the  dense  woodland  solitudes,  to  the  tangled  wilder- 
ness, through  which  the  wandering  brooks  and  the  shaded  creeks 
found  their  way  to  "  The  Shining  River." 


Cy^PTE^  V. 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS  ON  AND  FOR  THE  RIVER. 


WOLFE'S  victory  at  Quebec,  September  the  4th,  1756,  vir- 
tually won  Canada  for  the  English,  although  the  actual 
surrender  of  the  New  France  dates  at  ^Jontreal,  September  the 
8th,  1760. 

Immediately  after  the  surrender,  Major  Robert  Rogers  was 
sent  to  take  formal  possession  of  the  forts  upon  the  lakes  in- 
cluded in  the  capitulation  of  Montreal.  Before  reaching  Detroit 
the  astute  oflficer  clearly  understood  that  there  was  a  dangerous 
enemy  to  placate,  an  offended  and  resistant  power  to  conciliate, 
before  the  English  could  reap  any  of  the  fruitful  results  of 
victory. 

On  the  south-west  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  the  present  site  of  Cleve- 
land, Pontiac  met  the  expedition.  The  opening  speech  of  the 
Great  Chief  threatened  a  stormy  ending ;  yet  Rogers's  thorough 
understanding  of  Indian  character  and  Indian  diplomacy  secured 
for  the  English  troops  an  unmolested  passage  to  Detroit.     The 

surrender  of  the  fort  was  demanded,  the  lilies  of  France  were  low- 

103 


I04  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

ered  from  the  flag-staff,  and  the  cross  of  St.  George  was  uplifted 
over  the  Key  to  the  Western  I^akes. 

Neither  the  population  of  the  town  of  Detroit,  which,  accord- 
ing to  Rogers's  estimate,  amounted  to  about  twenty-five  hundred 
inhabitants,  nor  the  Indian  allies  of  the  French  living  in  numer- 
ous villages  around  and  near  the  fort,  offered  any  opposition  to 
the  change  of  rulers,  except  the  opposition  suggested  in  Pontiac's 
proud  definition  of  the  terms  of  settlement,  and  the  significant 
warning  that  he  would  "  drive  out  the  English  and  shut  up  the 
door"  if  the  terms  which  he  had  accepted  at  the  council  were 
violated. 

In  the  interval  between  the  capitulation  of  Montreal  and  the 
treaty  of  Paris  (February  lo,  1763),  which  finally  adjusted  some 
minor  difficulties  in  the  terms  of  peace,  the  Indians  were  ill  at 
ease  and  restless.  There  were  constant  rumours  of  uprisings 
upon  the  frontiers.  The  strong  hold  the  French  still  had  in  the 
North-west  was  shown  in  the  grand  council  at  Pontiac's  village 
that  spring,  when  all  the  lake  tribes  were  represented.  That 
Pontiac  believed  in  the  final  success  of  the  French  is  beyond 
question,  as  is  also  the  fact  that  the  chiefs  of  the  Algonquin  Con- 
federacy accepted  Pontiac's  belief  as  an  immediate  reason  for  war. 

To  have  a  clear  understanding  of  the  complications  upon 
the  border,  it  is  necessary  to  understand  something  of  the  situa- 
tion of  the  Indian  tribes ;  and  also  the  ties  and  the  motives  that 
influenced  their  alliances  with  the  French,  with  the  English,  and 
with  each  other. 

The  Indians  upon  the  Illinois,  where  La  Salle  had  planted 
his  colonies,  were  bound  to  the  colonists  by  ties  of  blood,  as  well 
as  of  affection.  Soldiers  in  the  forts,  traders  in  the  Indian  vil- 
lages, couriers  des  bois,  who  made  their  long  and  often  solitary 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  105 

voyages  through  the  lakes  and  rivers  of  the  North-west,  had 
taken  their  wives  from  among  the  tribes  of  the  Illinois.  These 
Indians  were  nominally  Catholics,  therefore  the  Church  sanc- 
tioned their  marriages.  In  religion,  language,  and  affection  their 
descendants  were  French.  Thus  it  very  naturally  came  about 
that  even  the  most  timid — those  who,  from  motives  of  gain  or 
policy,  wished  to  preserve  a  strict  neutrality  between  the  dis- 
affected chiefs  and  their  new  rulers,  the  English — would  not 
have  betrayed  the  conspiracy  of  Pontiac  if  they  had  been  trusted 
with  full  knowledge  of  his  plans.  Nor  was  this  affiliation  of  the 
Ilhnois  with  the  French  an  exceptional  episode  in  the  history  of 
the  lake  tribes.  It  is  true  that  La  Salle  had  a  wonderful  influ- 
ence over  the  Indians  with  whom  he  was  thrown  in  contact; 
and,  doubtless,  he  did  more  than  any  one  man  has  ever  done  to 
impress  the  savages  with  respect  and  admiration  for  the  French 
character.*  Yet  it  is  no  less  true  that  from  the  advent  of  Cham- 
plain,  to  the  death  of  Montcalm,  the  French  leaders  were  the 
models,  as  they  were  the  admiration,  of  the  greatest  of  the  In- 
dian chieftains. 

The  governors  of  "  New  France "  had  made  friends  of  the 
Western  chiefs ;  and  the  French  soldiers  had  heartily  fraternized 
with  their  brave  allies.  .The  careless  daring,  the  chivalry,  the 
gayety,  all  those  pronounced  characteristics  that  brighten  the 
camp  and  gild  war,  appealed  at  once  to  the  pride,  the  imagina- 
tion, and  the  fealty  of  the  savage  warriors.  The  sentiment  un- 
derlying the  comradeship  so  frankly  offered  captivated  fancies 
that  had  been  fed  upon  the  barbaric  traditions  of  a  brave,  proud 

*A  story  told  by  the  Abbe  Renaudot,  in  his  "Relations,"  illustrates  this  sympathetic 
admiration  of  the  Indians  for  the  French:  "A  New  York  Hollander  said  to  an  Indian 
'that  the  French  were  the  slaves  of  their  king ;  but  that  every  Hollander  was  one  of  the 
masters  in  Holland.'  '  If  that  is  so,'  replied  the  Indian,  '  the  slaves  are  of  more  value  than 
the  masters.' " 


lo6  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

race.  Their  French  comrades  called  them  brothers,  and  treated 
them  as  brothers.  The  French  king  was  their  father.  The 
splendour  of  his  glory  was  reflected  upon  his  children ;  and  the 
child-like  savage  did  not  stint  the  measure  of  his  admiration  or 
his  devotion.  When  Canada  was  lost  to  the  French,  there  was 
the  bitterness  of  sorrow,  as  well  as  of  defeat,  in  the  hearts  of 
the  Indians.  This  feeling  runs  through  every  sentence  of  Pon- 
tiac's  reply  to  the  address  of  the  English  ofiicer  sent  to  take 
possession  of  the  forts.  The  first  few  sentences  define  the 
situation : 

"Englishmen,  you  know  the  French  king  is  our  father.  He 
promised  to  be  such,  and  we,  in  return,  promised  to  be  his  chil- 
dren. This  promise  we  have  kept.  Englishmen,  you  have  made 
war  upon  our  father.  You  are  his  enemies.  How  can  you  have 
the  boldness  to  venture  here  among  his  children  ?  Do  you  not 
know  that  his  enemies  are  ours?  He  is  old,  infirm — he  has  been 
sleeping.  You  have  taken  advantage  of  that  to  possess  your- 
selves of  Canada.  But  he  will  awaken.  I  hear  him  stirring 
now.  He  is  asking  for  his  Indian  children.  When  he  is  fully 
awake  he  will  destroy  you  utterly." 

Any  close  study  of  the  history  of  the  North  American  Indian 
will  force  upon  the  unprejudiced  student  the  irresistible  convic- 
tion that  the  only  race  that  has  ever  understood  the  Indian  or 
treated  him  fairly  was  the  French.  Of  all  the  peoples  with 
whom  the  North  American  savage  has  been  thrown  in  contact, 
the  French  alone  never  contemned  or  undervalued  him.  In  some 
degree  this  is  the  outcome  of  a  sympathetic  and  subtle  similarity 
of  traits.  A  likeness  that  is  elusive  and  indistinct,  but  which  is 
constantly  brought  out  in  the  shading  of  individual  character. 

The  Indian,  like  the  Gascon,  vaunts  his  prowess,  and,  like  the 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  107 

Gascon,  he  recklessly  faces  death  to  make  that  vaunt  of  chal- 
lenge good.  In  both  races  there  is  the  same  desperate  courage 
in  assault;  if  fed  with  hope,  the  same  endurance;  if  defeated, 
the  same  despairing  hopelessness.  Alike,  they  are  easily  stung 
to  fierce  effort  by  pride  of  race  or  devotion  to  a  great  leader. 
They  will  dare  or  die  like  heroes  in  the  first  onset  of  battle ; 
yet  if  their  collected  ranks  recoil,  if  their  assault  fails,  they  are 
easily  thrown  into  wild  confusion,  and  their  defeat  is  soon  assured. 

The  surrender  of  Canada  to  the  English  threw  the  tribes  that 
were  allied  with  the  French  into  "the  confusion  of  defeat."  Un- 
happily for  the  security  of  the  frontier,  the  English  and  the 
frontiersmen  treated  them  with  the  scant  ceremony  which  the 
Indian  always  resents.  The  English  officers,  regarding  them  as 
savages,  treated  them  wnth  careless  contempt,  as  though  they  were 
the  useless  portion  of  the  spoil  of  their  recent  conquest.  Not 
knowing,  or  caring  to  know,  any  avenue  to  their  favor,  they  took 
no  pains  to  find  one ;  not  reckoning  their  value  as  allies,  they 
provoked  their  hatred.  Soldiers  and  traders  alike  were  brutal. 
The  French  traders  were  ordered  away  from  the  stations  upon  the 
slightest  pretexts ;  and  the  English,  who  succeeded  them,  clinched 
their  bargains  with  the  strong  hand.  Delinquent  debtors  were 
treated  to  blows  if  the  promised  furs  were  not  forthcoming  at  the 
appointed  date;  others  who  brought  their  peltries  were  made 
drunk,  cheated,  and  then  kicked  out  of  the  trading-house.  The 
resentment  of  the  Indian  was  deferred ;  but,  with  the  savage,  an 
indignity  suffered  is  a  hate  recorded. 

When,  in  addition  to  their  personal  wrongs,  the  public  wrong 
to  the  tribes,  in  the  conditions  which  defined  the  boundaries  of 
the  country  surrendered  by  the  French  at  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  was 
added  to   the  general    count   of  grievances,   when  the  Indians 


lo8  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

learned  that  all  the  lands  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  as  far  south 
as  the  southern  boundary  of  Georgia  (the  ownership  of  which 
had  been  vested  in  the  Indian  Confederacies  of  the  West  from 
time  immemorial)  was,  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  ceded  to  the  En- 
glish, their  rage  equaled  their  hate.  The  warring  confederacies 
were  now  ready  to  make  peace  with  each  other,  that  they  might 
make  common  cause  against  the  English.  Owing  to  the  in- 
fluence of  Sir  William  Johnson  with  the  Iroquois,  the  five  origi- 
nal tribes  of  the  Six  Nations  were  allies  of  the  English.  These 
tribes,  settled  in  Western  New  York  and  North-western  Pennsyl- 
vania, had  resisted  the  settlement  of  the  "New  France"  on  the 
upper  bank  of  the  St.  I/awrence;  and  they  still  held  bitter 
memories  of  successive  wars  with  the  French,  in  which  they 
had  sustained  disastrous  defeats.  But  with  the  Algonquin  Con- 
federacy of  the  lake  tribes  and  the  Mobilian  Confederacy  of  the 
South  there  were  no  reasons  either  of  policy  or  friendship  for 
their  alliance  with,  or  submission  to,  the  English. 

With  Pontiac  at  the  head  of  the  Algonquin  chiefs,  with  the 
smoldering  fire  of  the  Cherokee  war — which  had  been  kindled 
by  the  aggressive  spirit  of  the  frontiersmen,  who  regarded  the 
Indian  as  a  wild  beast  that  must  be  killed  to  clear  the  path — 
not  yet  extinguished,  there  was  but  little  hope  of  peace  or  quiet 
upon  the  border.  The  Southern  warriors  were  grimly  waiting 
an  opportunity  to  pay  their  newly  made  score ;  and  it  was  with 
jealous  ey^s,  clouded  by  the  rankling  soreness  of  defeat,  that 
they  watched  the  movements  of  the  new  neighbours  defeat  had 
forced  upon  their  acceptance. 

Everywhere  traders  and  settlers  were  pushing  their  way  into 
the  newly  acquired  territory.  Posts  and  block-houses  were  being 
builded  upon  the  banks  of  the  south-eastern  tributaries  of  the 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS,  109 

Ohio — ^west  of  the  route  known  to  the  tribes  as  the  "Warrior's 
Road."* 

"The  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground,"  which,  by  .a  tacit  under- 
standing between  the  Northern  and  Southern  Indians,  had  been 
reserv^ed  from  habitation,  and  held  as  the  wide-spread  battle-field 
of  the  Nations ;  the  duehng-ground,  where  wrongs  were  to  be 
avenged  and  disputes  settled ;  the  place  where  the  shock  of  war 
must  be  met,  to  protect  the  far  distant  villages,  and  which — 
when  the  tribes  were  at  peace — was  the  free  hunting-ground 
for  all,  was  now  beginning  to  be  dotted  by  long  lines  of  well- 
laden  pack-horses,  the  advance  guard  of  emigrants  coming  to 
settle  upon  the  lands  that  had  been  held,  from  the  earliest  period 
to  which  their  traditions  dated  back,  as  the  common  property  of 
the  Nations. 

In  utter  disregard  of  Bouquet's  proclamation  from  Fort  Pitt,  in 
1772,  which  said:  "The  treaty  of  Easton,  in  1758,  secured  to  the 
Indians  all  lands  west  of  the  mountains  for  their  hunting-grounds; 
wherefore  I  forbid  any,  and  all,  settlements  from  being  made 
there" — the  settlements  were  made.  In  the  quaint  statement  of 
a  Western  writer:  "The  savages  knew  with  whom  they  had  to 
deal ;  they  knew  that  every  white  man's  fingers  itched  for  the 
furs  and  the   lands  of  the  Indian ;  they  had  learned  that  each 

^The  Indian  confederacies  were  subdivided  into  tribes,  with  their  villages  and  bands  of 
warriors ;  and  also  into  distinct  clans  or  families,  who  wore  a  device  or  emblem,  known  in  the 
Algonquin  language  as  Totems.  Although  branches  of  the  different  clans  might  belong  to 
tribes  speaking  a  different  language  and  living  in  far  distant  villages,  the  tie  of  fraternity 
was  always  recognized  Each  warrior  was  as  proud  of  his  Totem  as  any  one  of  the  warlike 
barons  was  of  "  The  blazon  o'er  his  towers  displayed." 

The  nearness  of  kinship  implied  in  the  Totem  forbade  intermarriage  ;  consequently,  as 
husband  and  wife  were  of  different  clans,  the  Totems  were  widely  dispersed  through  eaph 
Nation.  In  many  of  the  tribes  the  Totem,  like  the  chieftainship,  descended  in  the  female 
line,  either  to  a  brother  born  of  the  same  mother,  or  to  a  sister's  son.  The  feeling  of  clan- 
ship was  as  strong  among  the  tribes  as  it  was  among  the  Scotch  clans  in  the  time  of  Rob 
Roy.  If  a  stranger  sought  shelter  in  a  village,  and  found  there  any  one  wearing  the  Totem 
of  his  clan,  he  was  sure  of  safety  and  assistance. 


no  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

new  treaty  was  born  of  greed,  and  that  it  held  within  its  folds 
the  germ  of  a  lie." 

When  the  pack-horses  were  halted  upon  some  uplifted  mount- 
ain ridge,  or  upon  some  rounded  upland  summit,  it  was  not  love 
for  the  beauty  of  this  wild,  rich  nature  that  looked  down  upon  the 
fertile  glades  inclosed  within  the  steep  declivities,  but  the  eyes  of 
Greed,  which  cast  a  covetous  glance  along  the  narrow  bottom-lands 
that  bordered  the  winding  creeks,  and  spread  into  undulating 
meadows  up  to  the  rocky  base  of  the  steep  and  rugged  hills. 
At  every  such  view,  Greed  dreamed  dreams  of  flocks  and  herds 
browsing  upon  the  rich  pastures,  of  waving  fields  of  grain, 
of  wind-blown  rows  of  tasseled  corn,  of  fruitful  orchards  upon 
the  hillsides,  now  covered  with  wooded  acres,  whose  growth 
outran  the  centuries  that  could  be  counted  since  the  white 
man's  coming. 

Upon  the  borders  of  Pennsylvania  the  situation  was  as  threat- 
ening as  upon  the  western  border  of  Virginia.  The  colony  of 
hard-working,  hard-fighting,  hard-praying,  and,  as  truth  is  best 
unveiled,  occasionally  hard-drinking  as  well  as  hard-thinking 
Scotch-Irish,  who  began  their  exodus  from  Scotland  before  the 
fall  of  the  great  Montrose  and  the  'death  of  Claverhouse,  and 
who  crossed  the  sea  from  the  North  of  Ireland  to  Pennsylvania 
when  the  scepter  fell  from  the  dead  hand  of  Cromwell,  brought 
into  the  colony  an  element  altogether  different  in  spirit  and 
action  from  any  then  existing  there. 

The  sternest,  most  set,  and  determined  of  all  this  warlike 
contingent  came  over  with  John  Preston,  after  the  siege  and  loss 
of  Derry  made  their  stay  in  Ireland  impossible. 

From  the  hour  of  their  arrival  in  the  "City  of  Brotherly  Love," 
detesting  the  Quakers  almost  as  much  as  they  hated  the  Church 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.        '  in 

of  England  <y  of  Rome,  they  drifted  to  the  west  and  to  the 
south,  to  the  very  outermost  boundaries  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia.  Tracing  the  waters  of  the  Susquehanna  and  the  Po- 
tomac to  their  sources,  finding  portages  across  the  mountains  to 
the  head-waters  of  the  Ohio,  they  builded  their  rude  wooden 
citadels  upon  the  extreme  verge  of  the  settlements,  making  for 
the  cautious  Dutch  emigrants,  who  followed  in  their  wake,  a 
cordon  of  defense  against  the  savages  upon  the  border.  Clothed 
with  a  prickly  chain-armor  of  intolerant  beliefs,  pestiferous  to 
touch  and  impossible  for  defense,  believing  in  the  extermination 
of  the  Indians  in  America  as  they  had  believed  in  the  extermi- 
nation of  papists  at  home,  and  as  their  New  England  co-relig- 
ionists believed  in  the  extermination  of  witches  and  Quakers, 
these  fighting  sectarists  were  the  advance  guard  of  a  fierce,  en- 
croaching phalanx,  which  swept  westward,  clearing  the  path  of 
civilization  with  the  besom  of  extermination. 

In  their  most  distorted  phase  they  were  monsters  of  incar- 
nate wrath.  In  their  highest  expression  of  manhood,  the  world 
has  seen  nothing  finer,  either  in  character  or  action.  At  their 
worst,  cruel  and  relentless  murderers ;  at  their  best,  they  were 
unselfishly  ready  to  suffer — yes,  to  welcome  death — to  save  a 
friend,  to  establish  a  principle,  to  defend  a  right,  or  to  support 
and  uphold  a  cause.  As  if  to  preserve  the  contrasting  extremes 
of  a  race  that  can  best  be  defined  by  contrasts,  history  has 
sketched  the  portrait  of  Simon  Girty,  and  has  gilded  with  mar- 
tial splendour  the  story  of  Stonewall  Jackson. 

"  Penn's  policy,"  as  unfolded  in  his  personal  dealings  with 
the  Indians  of  Pennsylvania,  was  eminently  just ;  yet  that  same 
"  policy,"  when  directed  by  his  successors,  covered  stupendous 
frauds  in  the  transfer  of  Indian  lands. 


112  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

These  later  purchases  were  made  by  the  agents  through  the 
"Indian  Yankees" — the  border  name  for  the  Iroquois — of  the 
Six  Nations,  who  drove  a  thrifty  trade  in  lands  to  which  they 
had  not  the  shadow  of  ownership.  Beginning  with  the  sales  of 
the  Delaware  lands  upon  the  head-waters  of  the  Susquehanna, 
the  Six  Nations  continued  their  fraudulent  transactions,  until, 
step  by  step,  the  Delawares  and  the  Shawanese  were  driven  back 
to  the  Ohio. 

The  only  pretext  for  this  usurpation  of  authority,  was  a  long- 
ago  conquest  of  the  Delawares  (or  Tuscaroras)  by  the  then  Five 
Nations,  when  a  final  peace  was  made  by  the  consolidation  which 
introduced  the  Delawares  as  an  equal  power,  through  their 
adoption  into  the  Iroquois  confederacy,  thus  changing  the  num- 
ber from  the  "Five"  to  the  "  Six  Nationsr 

After  their  forcible  removal  from  Pennsylvania,  the  chief 
settlement  of  the  Delawares  was  at  Logstown,  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Ohio,  where  their  king's  rule  was  overshadowed 
by  the  arrogant  Iroquois  sachem  Tanacharisen.  The  Shawanese, 
originally  from  South-eastern  Georgia  and  North-western  Florida, 
came  north  in  1697,  ^^^  removed  from  the  Susquehanna  to  the 
lands  upon  the  north-west  tributaries  of  the  Ohio  about  1728, 
when  they  finally  withdrew  from  the  Iroquois  confederation. 
Already  allied  with  the  Delawares,  both  soon  formed  ^n  alliance 
with  the  Miamis. 

Immediately  after  the  treaty  of  Paris,  February  10,  1763,  the 
resumption  of  the  interrupted  efforts  of  the  original  "Ohio  Com- 
pany" to  fulfill  the  conditions  of  its  charter  provoked  the  ill-will 
and  distrust  of  the  Indians  upon  the  Ohio.  Organized  (in  1748) 
by  the  Lees,  the  Washingtons,  and  other  prominent  Virginians, 
with  whom  were  associated  a  syndicate  of  London  merchants,  its 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  1 13 

surveys,  begun  by  Christopher  Gist,  south  of  the  Ohio  and  east 
of  the  Kanawha,  had  been  discontinued  during  the  French  and 
English  war ;  as  also  had  been  the  surveys  of  the  Loyal  Com- 
pany and  the  Greenbrier  Company.  But  now  there  was  a  gen- 
eral movement  westward,  and  all  of  these  companies  were  act- 
ively pushing  their  interests,  not  only  upon  the  head-waters  of 
the  Ohio,  but  their  agents  in  London  were  asking  for  further 
concessions,  and  for  fresh  orders  of  instruction  from  the  Colonial 
Government  at  Williamsburg. 

All  along  the  frontier  the  plantations,  deserted  during  the 
war,  were  being  reoccupied  and  cultivated.  Pioneers  were  push- 
ing westward  to  build  forts  for  coming  emigrants.  Traders 
were  out  among  the  Indian  tribes  passing  from  village  to  vil- 
lage collecting  furs  and  skins. 

Into  this  scene  of  general  activity  throughout  the  Ohio  Valley 
sinister  figures  were  crowding.  Grim,  sullen  warriors  gathered 
around  every  trading-post,  waiting  to  exchange  their  peltries  for 
weapons  and  anvmunition.  They  haughtily  turned  from  "  excellent 
bargains  in  beads,  hand-mirrors,  and  ornaments,"  which  traders 
persuasively  offered.  They  would  have  nothing  but  "powder  and 
shot,"  or  the  g^n  which  was  to  win  for  them  the  trader's  goods. 
The  Shawanese  and  the  Delawares  were  clustering  around  Fort 
Pitt.  Detached  bands  of  the  Miamis  were  hidden  in  the  wooded 
dells  and  sheltered  from  sight  in  the  forest-shrouded  creeks  along 
the  banks  of  the  "Beautiful  River,"  watching  every  canoe  and 
trading-boat  that  floated  upon  the  "deep,  shining  water." 

The  Ottawas,  the  Ojibways,  and  the  Wyandots  had  gathered 

at  St.  Ignace,  ready  for  the  capture  of  Michilimackinac.     Every 

fort  on  the  lakes  and  the  lake  streams  was  surrounded. 

Pontiac,  with  the  bravest  bands  of  the  Algonquin  Confed- 

8 


114  T^HE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO, 

eracy,  was  at  his  village  opposite  Detroit.  The  signal  of  general 
attack  was  to  be  given  by  Pontiac,  and  that  signal  was  to  be 
the  capture  of  Detroit.  A  condensed  extract  best  tells  the  story 
of  the  greatest  of  the  chiefs  : 

"Among  all  the  wild  tribes  of  the  continent  personal  merit  is  indispen- 
sable to  gaining  or  preserving  dignity.  Courage,  resolution,  wisdom,  address, 
and  eloquence,  are  sure  passports  to  distinction.  With  all  these  Pontiac  was 
pre-eminently  endowed.  He  possessed  commanding  energy  and  force  of 
mind.  Capable  of  acts  of  lofty  magnanimity,  he  was  a  thorough  savage,  with 
a  wider  range  of  intellect  than  those  around  him,  but  sharing  all  their  pas- 
sions and  prejudices.  His  faults  were  the  faults  of  his  race;  and  they  can 
not  eclipse  his  noble  qualities,  the  great  powers  and  heroic  virtues  of  his 
mind.  His  memory  is  still  cherished  among  the  remnants  of  many  Algon- 
quin tribes,  and  the  celebrated  Tecumseh  adopted  him  for  his  model,  prov- 
ing himself  no  unworthy  imitator. 

"  During  the  war  he  had  fought  on  the  side  of  France.  It  is  said  that 
he  commanded  the  Ottawas  at  the  memorable  defeat  of  Braddock. 

"When  the  tide  of  affairs  changed  the  subtle  and  ambitious  chief 
trimmed  his  bark  to  the  current,  and  gave  the  hand  of  friendship  to  the  En- 
glish. That  he  was  disappointed  in  their  treatment  of  him,  and  in  all  the 
hopes  that  he  had  formed  from  their  alliance,  is  sufficiently  evident  from 
one  of  his  speeches. 

"  It  was  a  momentous  and  gloomy  crisis  for  the  Indian  race,  for  never 
before  had  they  been  exposed  to  such  pressing  and  imminent  danger. 

"  The  English  had  gained  an  undisputed  ascendency,  and  the  Indians, 
no  longer  important  as  allies,  were  treated  as  mere  barbarians,  who  might 
be  trampled  upon  .with  impunity. 

"Already  their  best  hunting-grounds  were  invaded,  and  from  the  eastern 
ridges  of  the  Alleghanies  they  might  see,  from  far  and  near,  the  smoke  of 
the  settler's  clearings. 

"  Goaded  by  wrongs  and  indignities,  they  struck  for  revenge  and  re- 
lief from  the  evil  of  the  moment.  But  the  mind  of  Pontiac  could  embrace 
a  wider  and  deeper  view.  The  peril  of  the  times  was  unfolded  in  its  full 
extent  before  him,  and  he  resolved  to  unite  the  tribes  in  one  grand  effort  to 
avert  it.     He  adopted  the  only  plan  that  was  consistent  with  reason,  that  of 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  115 

restoring  the  French  ascendency  in  the  West,  and  once  more  opposing  a 
check  to  British  encroachment. 

"  Revenge,  ambition,  and  patriotism  wrought  upon  him  alike,  and  he 
resolved  on  war.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1762  he  sent  out  ambassadors  to 
the  different  nations.  They  visited  the  country  of  the  Ohio  and  its  tribu- 
taries, passed  northward  to  the  region  of  the  upper  lakes  and  the  wild  bor- 
ders of  the  River  Ottawa,  and  far  southward  towards  the  mouth  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. Bearing  with  them  the  war-belt  of  wampum,  broad  and  long,  as 
the  importance  of  the  message  demanded,  and  the  tomahawk  stained  red, 
in  token  of  war,  they  went  from  camp  to  camp,  and  village  to  village. 
Wherever  they  appeared  the  sachems  and  old  men  assembled,  to  hear  the 
words  of  the  great  Pontiac.  Then  the  head  chief  of  the  embassy  flung 
down  the  tomahawk  on  the  ground  before  them,  and,  holding  the  war-belt 
in  his  hand,  delivered,  with  vehement  gesture,  word  for  word,  the  speech 
with  which  he  was  charged.  It  was  heard  everywhere  with  approbation, 
the  belt  was  accepted,  the  hatchet  snatched  up,  and  the  assembled  chiefs 
8tood  pledged  to  take  part  in  the  war.  The  blow  was  to  be  struck  at  a  cer- 
tain time  in  the  month  of  May  following,  to  be  indicated  by  the  changes  of 
the  moon.  The  tribes  were  to  rise  together,  each  destroying  the  English 
garrison  in  its  neighborhood,  and  then,  with  a  general  rush,  the  whole  were 
to  turn  against  the  settlements  of  the  frontier. 

"  While  thus  on  the  very  eve  of  an  outbreak,  the  Indians  concealed  their 
design  with  the  deep  dissimulation  of  their  race.  Now  and  then  some 
slight  intimation  of  danger  would  startle  the  garrisons  from  their  security. 
On  one  occasion  the  plot  was  nearly  discovered.  Early  in  March,  1763, 
Ensign  Holmes,  commanding  at  Fort  Miami,  was  told  by  a  friendly  Indian 
that  the  warriors  in  the  neighboring  village  had  lately  received  a  war-belt,, 
with  a  message  urging  them  to  destroy  him  and  his  garrison,  and  that  this 
they  were  preparing  to  do.  Holmes  writes  to  report  his  discovery  to  Major 
Gladwyn,  who,  in  his  turn,  sends  the  information  to  Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst, 
expressing  his  opinion  that  there  has  been  a  general  irritation  among  the 
Indians,  but  that  the  affair  will  soon  blow  over,  and  that,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  his  own  post,  the  savages  were  perfectly  tranquil.  Within  cannon- 
shot  of  the  deluded  officer's  palisades  was  the  village  of  Pontiac  himself. 

"While  the  war  was  on  the  eve  of  breaking  out,  an  event  occurred 
which  had  afterwards  an  important  effect  upon  its  progress,  the  signing  of 
the  treaty  of  peace  at  Paris,  on  the  loth  of  February,  1763.    'By  this  treaf* 


ri6  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

France  resigned  her  claims  to  the  territories  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
that  great  river  now  became  the  western  boundary  of  the  British  colonial 
possessions.  England  left  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  and  the  adjacent  regions 
as  an  Indian  domain,  and,  by  the  proclamation  of  the  yth  of  October  follow- 
ing, the  intrusion  of  settlers  upon  these  lands  was  strictly  prohibited. 
But  the  remedy  came  too  late.  While  the  sovereigns  of  France,  England, 
and  Spain  were  signing  the  treaty  at  Paris,  countless  Indian  warriors  in 
the  American  forests  were  singing  the  war-song  and  whetting  their 
scalping-knives. 

"  The  council  took  place  on  the  27th  of  April.  On  that  morning  sev- 
eral old  men,  the  heralds  of  the  camp,  passed  to  and  fro  among  the 
lodges,  calling  the  warriors,  in  a  loud  voice,  to  attend  the  meeting. 

*'  All  were  soon  seated  in  a  wide  circle  upon  the  grass,  row  within 
row,  a  grave  and  silent  assembly.  Pipes,  with  ornamented  stems,  were 
lighted,  and  passed  from  hand  to  hand. 

"  Then  Pontiac  rose,  and  walked  forward  into  the  midst  of  the  coun- 
cil, plumed  and  painted  in  the  full  panoply  of  war.  Looking  round  upon 
his  wild  auditors,  he  began  to  speak,  with  fierce  gesture,  and  loud,  im- 
passioned voice ;  and  at  every  pause,  deep  guttural  ejaculations  of  assent 
and  approval  responded  to  his  words.  He  inveighed  against  the  arrogance, 
rapacity,  and  injustice  of  the  English,  and  contrasted  them  with  the 
F'rench,  whom  they  had  driven  from  the  soil.  He  represented  the  danger 
that  would  arise  from  the  supremacy  of  the  English.  Then  holding  out 
a  broad  belt  of  wampum,  he  told  the  council  that  he  had  received  it  from 
their  great  father,  the  king  of  France,  in  token  thfkt  he  had  heard  the 
voice  of  his  red  children  ;  that  his  sleep  was  at  an  end ;  and  that  his 
great  war-canoes  would  soon  sail  up  the  St,  Lawrence,  to  win  back  Can- 
ada, and  wreak  vengeance  on  his  enemies.  The  Indians  and  their  French 
brethren  should  fight  once  more,  side  by  side,  as  they  had  always  fought; 
they  should  strike  the  English  as  they  had  struck  them  many  moons  ago, 
when  their  great  army  marched  down  the  Monongahela,  and  they  had 
shot  them  from  their  ambush,  like  a  flock  of  pigeons  in  the  woods. 

"  Having  roused  in  his  warlike  listeners  their  native  thirst  for  blood 
and  vengeance,  he  next  addressed  himself  to  their  superstition. 

**  Pontiac  told  them,  in  conclusion,  that  on  the  2d  of  May  he  would 
gain  admittance,  with  a  party  of  his  warriors,  on  pretense  of  dancing  the 
Calumet   dance  before    the   garrison ;  that  they   would  take   note  of  the 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  1 17 

strength  of  the  fortification;  and,  this  information  gained,  he  would 
summon  another  council  to  determine  the  mode  of  attack. 

"On  the  ist  of  May  Pontiac  came  to  the  gate  with  forty  men  of  the 
Ottawa  tribe,  and  asked  permission  to  enter  and  dance  the  Calumet  dance 
before  the  officers  of  the  garrison.  After  some  hesitation  he  was  ad- 
mitted, and  proceeding  to  the  corner  of  the  street  where  stood  the  house 
of  the  commandant.  Major  Gladwyn,  he  and  thirty  of  his  warriors  began 
their  dance,  each  recounting  his  own  valiant  exploits,  and  boasting  him- 
self the  bravest  of  mankind.  The  officers  and  men  gathered  around 
them ;  while,  in  the  meantime,  the  remaining  ten  of  the  Ottawas  strolled 
about  the  fort,  observing  every  thing  it  contained.  When  the  dance  was 
over,  they  all  quietly  withdrew,  not  a  suspicion  of  their  sinister  design 
having  arisen  in  the  minds  of  the  English. 

•'  After  a  few  days  had  elapsed,  Pontiac's  messengers  again  passed  among 
the  Indian  cabins,  calling  the  principal  chiefs  to  another  council  in  the 
Pottawattamie  village.  He  once  more  addressed  the  chiefs,  inciting  them 
to  hostility  against  the  English,  and  concluded  by  the  proposal  of  his 
plan  for  destroying  Detroit. 

"  On  the  afternoon  of  the  5th  of  May,  a  Canadian  woman,  the  wife  of 
Lieutenant  Aubiu,  one  of  the  principal  settlers,  crossed  over  from  the 
western  side,  and  visited  the  Ottawa  village,  to  obtain  from  the  Indians  a 
supply  of  maple-sugar  and  venison.  She  was  surprised  at  finding  several 
of  the  warriors  engaged  in  filing  off  the  muzzles  of  their  guns,  so  as  to 
reduce  them,  stock  and  all,  to  the  length  of  about  a  yard. 

"Returning  home  in  the  evening,  she  mentioned  what  she  had  seen 
to  several  of  her  neighbors.  Upon  this,  one  of  theni,  the  blacksmith  of 
the  village,  remarked  that  many  of  the  Indians  had  lately  visited  his  shop, 
,and  attempted  to  borrow  files  and  saws  for  a  purpose  which  they  would 
^not  explain.  These  circumstances  excited  the  suspicion  of  the  experi- 
enced Canadians.  M,  Gouin,  an  old  and  wealthy  settler,  went  to  the  com- 
mandant and  conjured  him  to  stand  upon  his  guard;  but  Gladwyn,  a  man 
of  fearless  temper,  gave  no  heed  to  the  friendly  advice. 

"  In  the  Pottawattamie  village  lived  an  Ojibway  girl,  who,  if  there  be  truth 
in  tradition,  could  boast  a  larger  share  of  beauty  than  is  common  in  the  wig- 
wam. She  had  attracted  the  eye  of  Gladwyn,  and  she  had  become  much 
attached  to  him.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  6th,  Catharine — for  so  the  offi- 
cers called  her — came  to  the  fort,  and  repaired  to  Gladwyn's  quarters. 


Il8  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

bringing  with  her  a  pair  of  elk-skin  moccasins,  ornamented  with  porcu- 
pine work,  which  he  had  requested  her  to  make.  There  was  something 
unusual  in  her  look  and  manner.  Her  face  was  sad  and  downcast.  She 
said  little,  and  soon  left  the  room ;  but  the  sentinel  at  the  door  saw  her 
still  lingering  at  the  street  corner,  though  the  hour  for  closing  the  gates 
was  nearly  come.  At  length  she  attracted  the  notice  of  Gladwyn  him- 
self; and  calling  to  her,  he  pressed  her  to  declare  what  was  weighing 
upon  her  mind.  Still  she  remained  for  a  long  time  silent,  and  it  was 
only  after  much  urgency  and  many  promises  not  to  betray  her,  that  she 
revealed  her  momentous  secret. 

"  'To-morrow,'  she  said,  *  Pontiac  will  come  to  the  fort  with  sixty  of  his 
chiefs,  each  will  be  armed  with  a  gun,  cut  short,  and  hidden  under  his 
blanket.  Pontiac  will  demand  to  hold  a  council ;  and  after  he  has  deliv- 
ered his  speech,  he  will  offer  a  peace-belt  of  wampum,  holding  it  in  a  re- 
versed position.  This  will  be  the  signal  of  attack.  The  chiefs  will 
spring  up  and  fire  upon  the  officers,  and  the  Indians  in  the  street  will  fall 
upon  the  garrison.  Every  Englishman  will  be  killed,  but  not  the  scalp  of 
a  single  Frenchman  will  be  touched.' 

"  Gladwyn  was  an  officer  of  signal  courage  and  address.  Calling  his 
subordinates  together,  he  imparted  what  he  had  heard.  Every  preparation 
was  made  to  meet  the  sudden  emergency.  Half  the  garrison  were  ordered 
under  arms,  and  all  the  officers  prepared  to  spend  the  night  vipon  the 
ramparts.  '  It  rained  all  day,'  writes  the  chronicler,  *  but  cleared  up  to- 
wards evening,  and  there  was  a  very  fair  sunset.' 

"From  sunset  till  dawn  an  anxious  watch  was  kept  from  the  slender 
palisades  of  Detroit.  The  soldiers  were  still  ignorant  of  the  danger,  and 
the  sentinels  did  not  know  why  their  numbers  were  doubled,  or  why,  with 
such  unwonted  vigilance,  their  officers  visited  their  posts.  Again  and  again 
Gladwyn  mounted  his  wooden  ramparts  and  looked  forth  into  the  gloom. 
There  seemed  nothing  but  repose  and  peace  in  the  soft,  moist  air ;  but  at 
intervals,  as  the  night  wind  swept  across  the  bastion  it  bore  sounds  of  fear- 
ful portent  to  the  ear,  the  sullen  booming  of  the  Indian  drum  and  the  wild 
chorus  of  quavering  yells,  as  the  warriors,  around  their  distant  camp-fires, 
danced  the  war-dance  in  preparation  for  the  morrow's  work. 

'*The  sun  rose  upon  fresh  fields  and  newly  budding  woods,  and  scarcely 
had  the  morning  mists  dissolved,  when  the  garrison  could  see  a  fleet  of 
birch  canoes  crossing  the  river  from  the  eastern  shore,  within  range  of  can- 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  1 1 9 

non-shot  above  the  fort  Only  two  or  three  warriors  appeared  in  each,  but 
all  moved  slowly,  and  seemed  deeply  laden.  In  truth,  they  were  full  of  sav- 
ages lying  flat  on  their  faces,  that  their  number  might  not  excite  the  sus- 
picion of  the  English. 

"At  an  early  hour  the  open  common  behind  the  fort  was  thronged  with 
squaws,  children,  and  warriors,  some  naked,  and  others  fantastically  arrayed 
in  their  barbarous  finery.  All  seemed  restless  and  uneasy,  moving  hither 
and  thither,  in  apparent  preparation  for  a  general  game  of  ball.  Then, 
with  an  air  of  assumed  indifference,  they  would  move  towards  the  gate. 
They  were  all  admitted,  for  Gladwyn  who,  in  this  instance,  at  least,  showed 
some  knowledge  of  Indian  character,  chose  to  convince  his  crafty  foe  that, 
though  their  plot  was  detected,  their  hostility  was  despised. 

"At  ten  o'clock  the  great  war  chief,  with  his  treacherous  followers, 
reached  the  fort,  and  the  gateway  was  thronged  with  their  savage  faces. 
All  were  wrapped  to  the  throat  in  colored  blankets.  Some  were  crested 
with  hawk,  eagle,  or  raven  plumes ;  others  had  shaved  their  heads,  leaving 
only  the  fluttering  scalp-lock  on  the  crown.  For  the  most  part  they  were 
tall,  strong  men,  and  all  had  a  gait  and  bearing  of  peculiar  stateliness. 

"As  Pontiac  entered  it  is  said  that  he  started,  and  that  a  deep  ejacula- 
tion half  escaped  from  his  broad  chest.  On  either  hand,  within  the  gate- 
way, stood  ranks  of  soldiers  and  hedges  of  glittering  steel.  The  swarthy, 
half-wild  engages  of  the  fur-traders,  armed  to  the  teeth,  stood  in  groups 
at  the  street  corner,  and  the  measured  tap  of  a  drum  fell  ominously  on 
the  ear.  Pontiac  strode  forward  into  the  narrow  street,  and  his  chiefs  filed 
after  him  in  silence.  Their  rigid  muscles  betrayed  no  sign  of  emotion ; 
yet,  looking  closely,  one  might  have  seen  their  small  eyes  glance  from  side 
to  side  with  restless  scrutiny. 

"  Traversing  the  entire  width  of  the  little  town,  they  reached  the  door  of 
the  council-house,  a  large  building  standing  near  the  margin  of  the  river. 
Entering,  they  saw  Gladwyn  with  several  of  his  officers  seated  in  readiness  to 
receive  them,  and  the  observant  chiefs  did  not  fail  to  remark  that  every  En- 
glishman wore  a  sword  at  his  side  and  a  pair  of  pistols  in  his  belt.  The  con- 
spirators eyed  each  other  with  uneasy  glances.  *  Why,'  demanded  Pontiac, '  do 
I  see  so  many  of  my  father's  young  men  standing  in  the  street  with  their 
guns  ?'  Gladwyn  replied  through  his  interpreter,  I^a  Butte,  that  he  had  or- 
dered the  soldiers  under  arms  for  the  sake  of  exercise  and  discipline.  With 
much  delay  and  many  signs  of  disgust  the  chiefs  at  length  sat  down  on  the 


I20  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 


mats  prepared  for  them,  and  after  the  customary  pause,  Pontiac  rose  to 
speak.  Holding  in  his  hand  the  wampum-belt,  which  was  to  have  given  the 
fatal  signal,  he  addressed  the  commandant,  professing  strong  attachment  to 
the  English,  and  declaring,  in  Indian  phrase,  that  he  had  come  to  smoke  the 
pipe  of  peace  and  brighten  the  chain  of  friendship.  The  officers  watched 
him  keenly  as  he  uttered  these  hollow  words,  and  once,  it  is  said,  he  raised 
the  wampum-belt  as  if  about  to  give  the  signal  of  attack.  But,  at  that  in- 
stant, Gladwyn  signed  slightly  with  his  hand.  The  sudden  clash  of  arms 
sounded  from  the  passage  without,  and  a  drum  rolling  the  charge  filled  the 
council-room  with  its  stunning  din.  At  this  Pontiac  stood  like  one  con- 
founded, and  soon  sat  down  in  amazement  and  perplexity. 

**  Another  pause  ensued,  and  Gladwyn  commenced  a  brief  reply.  He 
assured  the  chiefs  that  friendship  and  protection  should  be  extended  towards 
them  as  long  as  they  continued  to  deserve  it,  but  threatened  ample  venge- 
ance for  the  first  act  of  aggression.  The  council  then  broke  up ;  but  be- 
fore leaving  the  room  Pontiac  told  the  officers  that  he  would  return  in  a  few 
days,  with  his  squaws  and  children,  for  he  wished  that  they  should  all  shake 
hands  with  their  fathers,  the  English.  To  this  new  piece  of  treachery 
Gladwyn  deigned  no  reply.  The  gates  of  the  fort,  which  had  been  closed 
during  the  conference,  were  again  flung  open,  and  the  baffled  savages  were 
suffered  to  depart. 

"  Balked  in  his  treachery,  the  great  chief  withdrew  to  his  village,  en- 
raged and  mortified,  yet  still  resolved  to  persevere.  That  Gladwyn  had  suf- 
fered him  to  escape,  was  to  his  mind  an  ample  proof  either  of  cowardice  or 
ignorance.  The  latter  supposition  seemed  the  more  probable,  and  he  re- 
solved to  visit  the  English  once  more,  and  convince  them,  if  possible,  that 
their  suspicions  were  unfounded.  Early  on  the  following  morning  he  re- 
paired to  the  fort  with  three  of  his  chiefs,  bearing  in  his  hand  the  sacred 
calumet,  or  pipe  of  peace,  the  bowl  carved  in  stone  and  the  stem  adorned 
with  feathers.  Offering  it  to  the  commandant,  he  addressed  him  and  his 
officers :  '  My  fathers,  evil  birds  have  sung  lies  in  your  ear.  We  that  stand 
before  you  are  friends  of  the  English.  We  love  them  as  our  brothers,  and, 
to  prove  our  love,  we  have  come  this  day  to  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace.' 

"At  his  departure  he  gave  the  pipe  to  Major  Campbell,  second  in  com- 
mand, as  a  farther  pledge  of  his  sincerity. 

"  Early  on  the  following  morning,  Monday,  the  9th  of  May,  before  eleven 
o'clock,  the  common  behind  the  fort  was  once  more  thronged  with  Indians  of 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS,  12 1 

all  the  four  tribes ;  and  Pontiac,  advancing  from  among  the  multitude,  ap- 
proached the  gate.  It  was  closed  and  barred  against  him.  Pontiac  shouted 
to  the  sentinels,  and  demanded  why  he  was  refused  admittance.  Gladwyn 
himself  replied  that  the  great  chief  might  enter,  if  he  chose,  but  that  the 
crowd  he  had  brought  with  him  must  remain  outside.  Pontiac  rejoined 
that  he  wished  all  his  warriors  to  enjoy  the  fragrance  of  the  friendly  calumet. 
Gladwyn's  answer  was  more  concise  than  courteous,  and  imported  that  he 
would  have  none  of  his  rabble  in  the  fort.  Thus  repulsed,  Pontiac  threw 
off  the  mask  which  he  had  worn  so  long ;  he  turned  abruptly  from  the 
gate  and  strode  towards  his  followers,  who  in  great  multitudes  lay  flat  upon 
the  ground,  just  beyond  reach  of  gunshot  At  his  approach  they  all 
leaped  up  and  ran  off,  yelping,  in  the  words  of  an  eye-witness,  like  so 
many  devils. 

**  Looking  out  from  the  loop-holes,  the  garrison  could  see  them  run- 
ning in  a  body  towards  the  house  of  an  old  English  woman,  who  lived, 
with  her  family,  on  a  distant  part  of  the  common.  They  beat  down  the 
doors  and  rushed  tumultuously  in.  A  moment  more  and  the  mournful 
scalp-yell  told  the  fate  of  the  wretched  inmates. 

"During  the  evening  fresh  tidings  of  disaster  reached  the  fort.  A 
Canadian,  named  Desnoyers,  came  down  the  river  in  a  birch  canoe,  and, 
landing  at  the  water-gate,  brought  news  that  two  English  officers.  Sir  Rob- 
ert Davies  and  Captain  Robertson,  had  been  waylaid  and  murdered  by  the 
Indians,  above  Lake  St.  Clair.  The  Canadians  declared,  moreover,  that 
Pontiac  had  just  been  joined  by  a  formidable  band  of  Ojibways,  from  the 
Bay  of  Saginaw. 

"  Every  Englishman  in  the  fort,  whether  trader  or  soldier,  was  now 
ordered  under  arms.  No  man  lay  down  to  sleep,  and  Gladwyn  himself 
walked  the  ramparts  throughout  the  night. 

"All  was  quiet  till  the  approach  of  dawn.  But  as  the  first  dim  redness 
tinged  the  east,  and  fields  and  woods  grew  visible  in  the  morning  twilight, 
suddenly  the  war-whoop  rose  on  every  side  at  once.  Indians,  pealing  their 
terrific  yells,  came  bounding  naked  to  the  assault.  The  soldiers  looked 
from  the  loop-holes,  thinking  to  see  their  assaitants  gathering  for  a  rush 
against  the  feeble  barrier.  But,  though  their  clamors  filled  the  air,  and 
their  guns  blazed  thick  and  hot,  yet  very  few  were  visible. 

"  There  was  one  low  hill,  at  no  great  distance  from  the  fort,  behind 
which  countless  black  heads  of  Indians  alternately  appeared  and  vanished, 


'22  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 


/ 

) 

/ 


while  all  along  the  ridge  their  guns  emitted  incessant  white  puffs  of  smoke. 
Every  loop-hole  was  a  target  for  their  bullets ;  but  the  fire  was  returned 
with  steadiness,  and  not  without  effect.  The  Canadian  engages  of  the  fur- 
traders  retorted  the  Indian  war-whoops  with  outcries  not  less  discordant, 
while  the  British  and  provincials  paid  back  the  clamor  of  the  enemy  with 
musket  and  rifle  balls.  Within  half  gunshot  of  the  palisade  was  a  cluster 
of  out-buildings,  behind  which  a  host  of  Indians  found  shelter.  A  cannon 
was  brought  to  bear  upon  them,  loaded  with  red-hot  spikes.  They  were 
soon  wrapped  in  flames,  upon  which  tlie  disconcerted  savages  broke  away 
in  a  body,  and  ran  off  yelping,  followed  by  a  shout  of  laughter  from  the 
soldiers. 

*'  For  six  hours  the  attack  was  unabated ;  but  as  the  day  advanced  the 
assailants  grew  weary  of  their  futile  efforts.  Their  fire  slackened,  their 
clatnors  died  away,  and  the  garrison  was  left  once  more  in  peace,  though 
from  time  to  time  a  solitary  shot,  or  lonely  whoop,  still  showed  the  presence 
of  some  lingering  savage,  loath  to  be  balked  of  his  revenge.  Among  the 
garrison  only  five  men  had  been  wounded,  while  the  cautious  enemy  had 
suffered  but  trifling  loss. 

"  Gladwyn  was  still  convinced  that  the  whole  affair  was  but  a  sudden 
ebullition,  which  would  soon  subside ;  and  being,  moreover,  in  great  want 
of  provision,  he  resolved  to  open  negotiations  with  the  Indians.  The  'in- 
terpreter. La  Butte,  was  dispatched  to  the  camp  of  Pontiac,  to  demand  the 
reasons  of  his  conduct,  and  declare  that  the  commandant  was  ready  to  re- 
dress any  real  grievance  of  which  he  fhiglit  complain.  Two  old  Canadians, 
of  Detroit,  Chapeton  and  Godefroy,  earnest  to  forward  the  negotiations, 
offered  to  accompany  him. 

"  Reaching  the  Indian  camp,  the  three  ambassadors  were  received  by 
Pontiac  with  great  apparent  kindness.  La  Butte  delivered  his  message,  and 
the  two  Canadians  labored  to  dissuade  the  chief,  for  his  own  good  and  for 
theirs,  from  pursuing  his  hostile  purposes.  Pontiac  stood  listening,  armed 
with  the  true  impenetrability  of  an  Indian.  Yet  with  all  this  seeming  ac- 
quiescence, the  heart  of  the  savage  was  unmoved  as  a  rock.  The  Canadians 
were  completely  deceived. 

"  At  La  Butte's  appearance  all  the  chiefs  withdrew  to  consult  among 
themselves.  They  returned  after  a  short  debate,  and  Pontiac  declared  that, 
out  of  their  earnest  desire  for  firm  and  lasting  peace,  they  wished  to  hold 
council  with  their  English  fathers  themselves.    With  this  view,  they  were 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  123 

expressly  desirous  that  Major  Campbell,  second  in  command,  should  visit 
their  camp.  This  veteran  officer,  from  his  just,  upright,  and  manly  char- 
acter, had  gained  the  confidence  of  the  Indians.  To  the  Canadians  the  pro- 
posal seemed  a  natural  one,  and,  returning  to  the  fort,  they  laid  it  before 
the  commandent.  Gladwyn  suspected  treachery,  but  Major  Campbell 
urgently  asked  permission  to  comply  with  the  request  of  Pontiac.  He  felt, 
he  said,  no  fear  of  the  Indians,  with  whom  he  had  always  maintained  the 
most  friendly  terms.  Gladwyn,  with  some  hesitation,  acceded,  and  Camp- 
bell left  the  fort,  accompanied  by  a  junior  officer.  Lieutenant  McDougal, 
ind  attended  by  La  Butte  and  several  other  Canadians. 

"  In  the  meantime  Mr.  Gouin,  anxious  to  learn  what  was  passing,  had 
entered  the  Indian  camp,  and,  moving  from  lodge  to  lodge,  soon  saw  and 
heard  enough  to  convince  him  that  the  two  British  officers  were  advanc- 
ing into  the  lion's  jaws.  He  hastened  to  dispatch  two  messengers  to 
warn  them  of  the  peril.  The  party  had  scarcely  left  the  gate,  when  they 
were  met  by  these  men,  breathless  with  running ;  but  the  warning  came 
too  late.  Once  embarked  on  the  embassy,  the  officers  would  not  be  di- 
verted from  it;  and  passing  up  the  river  road,  they  approached  the  little 
wooden  bridge  that  led  over  Parent's  Creek.  Crossing  this  bridge,  and  as- 
cending a  rising  ground  beyond,  they  saw  before  them  the  wide-spread 
camp  of  the  Ottawas.  A  dark  multitude  gathered  along  its  outskirts,  and 
no  sooner  did  they  recognize  the  red  uniform  of  the  officers,  than  they 
all  raised  at  once  a  horrible  outcry  of  whoops  and  bowlings.  Indeed, 
they  seemed  disposed  to  give  the  ambassadors  the  reception  usually  ac- 
corded to  captives  taken  in  war ;  for  the  women  seized  sticks,  stones,  and 
clubs,  and  ran  towards  Campbell  and  his  companions,  as  if  to  make  them 
pass  the  cruel  ordeal  of  running  the  gauntlet.  Pontiac  came  forward,  and 
his  voice  allayed  the  tumult.  He  shook  the  officers  by  the  hand,  and 
turning,  led  the  way  through  the  camp.  He  paused  before  the  entrance 
of  a  large  lodge,  and,  entering,  pointed  to  several  mats  placed  on  the 
ground  at  the  side  opposite  the  opening.  Here,  obedient  to  his  signal, 
the  two  officers  sat  down.  Instantly  the  lodge  was  thronged  with  savages. 
At  their  entrance,  Pontiac  had  spoken  a  few  words.  A  pause  then  en- 
sued, broken  at  length  by  Campbell,  who  from  his  seat  addressed  the  In- 
dians in  a  short  speech.  It  was  heard  in  perfect  silence,  and  no  reply  was 
made.  At  length  Major  Campbell,  conscious,  no  doubt,  of  the  danger  in 
which  he  was  placed,  resolved  fully  to  ascertain  his  true  position,  and 


124  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

rising  to  his  feet,  declared  his  intention  of  returning  to  the  fort.  Pontiac 
made  a  sign  that  he  should  resume  his  seat.  '  My  father,'  he  said,  *  will 
sleep  to-night  in  the  lodges  of  his  red  children.'  The  gray-haired  soldier 
and  his  companion  were  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  their  enemies. 

"  Many  of  the  Indians  were  eager  to  kill  the  captives  on  the  spot,  but 
Pontiac  would  not  carry  his  treachery  so  far. 

"On  the  morning  after  the  detention  of  the  officers,  Pontiac  crossed 
over,  with  several  of  his  chiefs,  to  the  Wyandot  village.  A  part  of  this 
tribe,  influenced  by  Father  Pothier,  their  Jesuit  priest,  had  refused  to  take 
up  arms  against  the  English ;  but  being  now  threatened  with  destruction 
if  they  should  longer  remain  neutral,  they  were  forced  to  join  the  rest. 
Having  secured  these  new  allies,  Pontiac  prepared  to  resume  his  opera- 
tions with  fresh  vigor.  On  the  12th  of  May,  when  these  arrangements 
were  complete,  the  Indians  once  more  surrounded  the  fort,  firing  upon  it 
from  morning  till  night. 

"On  the  evening  of  that  day,  the  officers  met  to  consider  what  course 
of  conduct  the  emergency  required ;  and,  as  one  of  them  writes,  the  com- 
mandant was  almost  alone  in  his  opinion  that  they  ought  still  to  defend 
the  place. 

"  Day  after  day  the  Indians  continued  their  attacks,  until  their  war- 
cries  and  the  rattle  of  their  guns  became  familiar  sounds. 

"  For  many  weeks  no  man  lay  down  to  sleep  except  in  his  clothes, 
and  with  his  weapons  by  his  side.  Parties  of  volunteers  sallied,  from 
time  to  time,  to  burn  the  out-buildings,  which  gave  shelter  to  the  enemy. 
They  cut  down  orchard  trees,  and  leveled  fences,  until  the  ground  about 
the  fort  was  clear  and  open,  and  the  enemy  had  no  cover  left  from  whence 
to  fire.  The  two  vessels  in  the  river,  sweeping  the  northern  and  southern 
curtains  of  the  works  with  their  fire,  deterred  the  Indians  from  approach- 
ing those  points,  and  gave  material  aid  to  the  garrison.  Soon  after  the 
first  attack,  the  Ottawa  chief  had  sent  in  to  Gladwyn  a  summons  to  sur-_ 
render,  assuring  him  that  if  the  place  were  at  once  given  up,  he  might 
embark  on  board  the  vessels,  with  all  his  men;  but  that,  if  he  persisted 
in  his  defense,  he  would  treat  him  as  Indians  treat  each  other;  that  is,  he 
would  burn  him  alive.  To  this  Gladwyn  made  answer  that  he  cared  noth- 
ing for  his  threats.  The  attacks  were  now  renewed  with  increased  ac- 
tivity, and  the  assailants  were  soon  after  inspired  with  fresh  ardor  by  the 
arrival  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  Ojibway  warriors  from  Grand  River. 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  125 

"  Detroit  must  have  been  abandoned  or  destroyed,  but  for  the  assist- 
ance of  a  few  friendly  Canadians,  and  especially  of  M.  Baby,  a  prominent 
habitant,  who  lived  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  provided  the 
garrison  with  cattle,  hogs,  and  other  supplies. 

"  Major  Rogers,  a  man  familiar  with  the  Indians,  and  an  acute  judge  of 
mankind,  speaks  in  the  highest  terms  of  Pontiac's  character  and  talents. 
'He  puts  on,'  he  says,  'an  air  of  majesty  and  princely  grandeur,  and  is 
greatly  honored  and  revered  by  his  subjects.' 

"  Pontiac  had  sent  messengers  to  M.  Neyon,  commandant  at  the  Illinois, 
earnestly  requesting  that  a  force  of  regular  troops  might  be  sent  to  his  as- 
sistance ;  and  Gladw>n,  on  his  side,  had  ordered  one  of  the  vessels  to  Ni- 
agara, to  hasten  forward  the  expected  convoy.  The  schooner  set  sail ,  but 
on  the  next  day,  as  she  lay  becalmed  at  the  entrance  of  Lake  Erie,  a  multi- 
tude of  canoes  suddenly  darted  out  upon  her  from  the  neighboring  shores. 
In  the  prow  of  the  foremost  the  Indians  had  placed  their  prisoner,  Major 
Campbell,  with  the  dastardly  purpose  of  interposing  him  as  a  screen  be- 
tween themselves  and  the  fire  of  the  English.  But  the  brave  old  man  called 
out  to  the  crew  to  do  their  duty,  without  regard  to  him.  Happily,  at  that 
moment  a  fresh  breeze  sprang  up ;  the  flapping  sails  stretched  to  the  wind, 
and  the  schooner  bore  prosperously  on  her  course  toward  Niagara,  leaving 
the  savage  flotilla  far  behind. 

"  On  the  30th  of  May,  at  about  nine  o'clock,  the  voice  of  the  sentinel 
sounded  from  the  south-east  bastion,  and  loud  exclamations,  in  the  direction 
of  the  river,  roused  Detroit  from  its  lethargy.  Instantly  the  place  was  astir. 
The  long-expected  convoy  was  full  in  sight.  On  the  further  side  of  the  river, 
at  some  distance  below  the  fort,  a  line  of  boats  was  rounding  the  woody  projec- 
tion, then  called  Montreal  Point,  their  oars  flashing  in  the  sun,  and  the  red 
flag  of  England  flying  from  the  stern  of  the  foremost.  The  toils  and  dangers 
of  the  garrison  were  drawing  to  an  end.  With  one  accord  they  broke  into 
three  hearty  cheers,  again  and  again  repeated,  while  a  cannon,  glancing 
from  the  bastion,  sent  its  loud  voice  of  defiance  to  the  enemy,  and  welcome 
to  approaching  friends.  But  suddenly  every  cheek  grew  pale  with  horror. 
Dark,  naked  figures  were  seen  rising,  with  wild  gesture,  in  the  boats,  while, 
in  the  place  of  the  answering  salute,  the  distant  yell  of  the  war-whoop  fell 
faintly  on  their  ears.  The  convoy  was  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The 
boats  had  all  been  taken,  and  the  troops  of  the  detachment  slain  or  made 
captive.    Officers  and  men  stood  gazing  in  a  mournful  silence,  when  an  inci- 


126  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

dent  occurred  which  caused  them   to  forget  the  general  calamity  in  the 
absorbing  interest  of  the  moment. 

"  In  each  of  the  boats,  of  which  there  were  eighteen,  two  or  more  of 
the  captured  soldiers,  deprived  of  their  weapons,  were  compelled  to  act  as 
rowers,  guarded  by  several  armed  savages,  while  many  other  Indians,  for 
the  sake  of  farther  security,  followed  the  boats  along  the  shore.  In  the 
foremost,  as  it  happened,  there  were  four  soldiers  and  only  three  Indians, 
The  larger  of  the  two  vessels  still  lay  anchored  in  the  stream,  about  a  bow- 
shot from  the  fort,,  while  her  companion,  as  we  have  seen,  had  gone  down 
to  Niagara  to  hasten  up  this  very  re-enforcement.  As  the  boat  came  oppo- 
site this  vessel  the  soldier  who  acted  as  steersman  conceived  a  daring  plan 
of  escape.  The  principal  Indian  sat  immediately  in  front  of  another  of  the 
soldiers.  The  steersman  called,  in  English,  to  his  comradfe  to  seize  the  sav- 
age and  throw  him  overboard.  The  man  answered  that  he  was  not  strong 
enough,  on  which  the  steersman  directed  him  to  change  places  with  him,  as 
if  fatigued  with  rowing,  a  movement  which  would  excite  no  suspicion  on 
the  part  of  the  guard.  As  the  bold  soldier  stepped  forward,  as  if  to  take 
his  companion's  oar,  he  suddenly,  seized  the  Indian  by  the  hair,  and  grip- 
ping with  the  other  hand  the  girdle  at  his  waist,  lifted  him  by  main  force, 
and  flung  him  into  the  river.  The  boat  rocked  till  the  water  surged 
over  her  gunwale.  The  Indian  held  fast  to  his  enemy's  clothes,  and  draw- 
ing himself  upwards  as  he  trailed  alongside,  stabbed  him  again  and  again 
with  his  knife,  and  then  dragged  him  overboard.  Both  went  down  the 
swift  current,  rising  and  sinking,  and,  as  some  relate,  perished,  grappled  in 
each  other's  arms.  The  two  remaining  Indians  leaped  out  of  the  boat. 
The  prisoners  turned  and  pulled  for  the  distant  vessel,  shouting  aloud  for 
aid.  The  Indians  on  shore  opened  a  heavy  fire  upon  them,  and  many 
canoes  paddled  swiftly  in  pursuit.  The  men  strained  with  desperate 
strength.  A  fate  inexpressibly  horrible  was  the  alternative.  The  bullets 
hissed  thickly  around  their  heads ;  one  of  them  was  soon  wounded,  and 
the  light  birch  canoes  gained  on  them  with  fearful  rapidity.  Escape 
seemed  hopeless,  when  the  report  of  a  cannon  burst  from  the  side  of  the 
vessel.  The  ball  flew  close  past  the  boat,  beating  the  water  in  a  line  of 
foam,  and  narrowly  missing  the  foremost  canoe.  At  this  the  pursuers  drew 
back  in  dismay ;  and  the  Indians  on  shore,  being  farther  saluted  by  a  sec- 
ond shot,  ceased  firing,  and  scattered  among  the  bushes.  The  prisoners 
soon  reached  the  vessel,  when  they  were  greeted  as  men  snatched  from 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  127 

the  jaws  of  fate.  *  A  living  monument,'  writes  an  officer  of  the  garrison, 
*  that  fortune  favors  the  brave.' 

"After  night  had  set  in  several  Canadians  came  to  the  fort  bringing 
vague  and  awful  reports  of  the  scenes  that  had  been  enacted  at  the  In- 
dian camp.  The  soldiers  gathered  round  them,  and,  frozen  with  horror, 
listened  to  the  appalling  narrative.  On  the  following  day,  and  for  several 
succeeding  days,  they  beheld  frightful  confirmation  of  the  rumors  they 
had  heard.  Naked  corpses,  gashed  with  knives  and  scorched  with  fire, 
floated  down  on  the  pure  waters  of  the  Detroit,  whose  fish  came  up  to 
nibble  at  the  clotted  blodd  that  clung  to  their  ghastly  faces. 

"  Late  one  afternoon,  at  about  this  period  of  the  siege,  the  garrison 
were  again  greeted  with  the  dismal  zry  of  death,  and  a  line  of  naked 
warriors  were  seen  issuing  from  the  woods,  which,  like  a  wall  of  foliage, 
rose  beyond  the  pastures  in  rear  of  the  fort.  Each  savage  was  painted 
black,  and  each  bore  a  scalp  fluttering  from  the  end  of  a  pole.  It  was  but 
too  clear  that  some  new  disaster  had  befallen ;  and  in  truth,  before  night- 
fall, one  La  Brosse,  a  Canadian,  came  to  the  gate  with  the  tidings  that 
Fort  Sandusky  had  been  taken,  and  all  its  garrison  slain  or  made  cap- 
tive. Among  the  few  survivors  of  the  slaughter  was  the  commanding  offi- 
cer. Ensign  PauUy,  who  had  been  brought  prisoner  to  Detroit,  bound 
hand  and  foot,  and  solaced  on  the  passage  with  the  expectation  of  being 
burnt  alive;  but  an  old  woman,  whose  husband  had  lately  died,  chose  to 
adopt  him  in  place  of  the  deceased  warrior.  Seeing  no  alternative  but 
the  stake,  PauUy  accepted  the  proposal ;  and  having  been  first  plunged  in 
the  river,  that  the  white  blood  might  be  washed  from  his  veins,  he  was 
conducted  to  the  lodge  of  the  widow,  and  treated  thenceforth  with  all  the 
consideration  due  to  an  Ottawa  warrior. 

"  Gladwyn  soon  received  a  letter  from  him,  through  one  of  the  Cana- 
dian inhabitants,  giving  a  full  account  of  Fort  Sandusky.  On  the  i6th 
of  May — such  was  the  substance  of  the  communication — Paully  was  in- 
formed that  seven  Indians  were  waiting  at  the  gate  to  speak  with  him. 
As  several  of  the  number  were  well  known  to  him,  he  ordered  them,  with- 
out hesitation,  to  be  admitted.  Arrived  at  his  quarters,  two  of  the  treach- 
erous visitors  seated  themselves  on  each  side  of  the  commandant,  while 
the  rest  were  dispersed  in  various  parts  of  the  room.  The  pipes  were 
lighted,  and  the  conversation  began,  when  an  Indian,  who  stood  in  the 
doorway,   suddenly  made  a   signal  by  raising  his  head.     Upon  this,  the 


128  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO, 

astonished  officer  was  instantly  pounced  upon  and  disarmed ;  while,  at  the 
same  moment,  a  confused  noise  of  shrieks  and  yells,  the  firing  of  guns, 
and  the  hurried  tramp  of  feet,  sounded  from  the  area  of  the  fort  without. 
It  soon  ceased,  however,  and  PauUy,  led  by  his  captors  from  the  room,  saw 
the  parade-ground  strewn  with  the  corpses  of  his  murdered  garrison.  At 
night-fall,  he  was  conducted  to  the  margin  of  the  lake,  where  several  birch 
canoes  lay  in  readiness,  and  as,  amid  thick  darkness,  the  party  pushed  out 
from  shore,  the  captive  saw  the  fort,  lately  under  his  command,  bursting 
on  all  sides  into  sheets  of  flame. 

"  The  sleepless  garrison,  worn  by  fatigue  a6d  ill-fare,  and  harassed 
by  constant  petty  attacks,  were  yet  further  saddened  by  the  news  of  disas- 
ter which  thickened  from  every  quarter.  Of  all  the  small  posts,  scattered 
at  wide  intervals  through  the  vast  wilderness  to  the  westward  of  Niagara 
and  Fort  Pitt,  it  soon  appeared  that  Detroit  alone  had  been  able  to  sustain 
itself.  For  the  rest,  there  was  but  one  unvaried  tale  of  calamity  and  ruin. 
On  the  15th  of  June,  a  number  of  Pottawattamies  were  seen  approaching 
the  gate  of  the  fort,  bringing  with  them  four  English  prisoners,  who  proved 
to  be  Ensign  Schlosser,  lately  commanding  at  St.  Joseph's,  together  with 
three  private  soldiers.  The  Indians  wished  to  exchange  them  for  several 
of  their  own  tribe,  who  had  been  for  nearly  two  months  prisoners  in  the 
fort.  After  some  delay  this  was  effected,  and  the  garrison  then  learned 
the  unhappy  fate  of  their  comrades  at  St.  Joseph's. 

"  The  next  news  which  came  in  was  that  of  the  loss  of  Ouatanon,  a  fort 
situated  upon  the  Wabash,  a  little  below  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  La- 
fayette.  Gladwyn  received  a  letter  from  its  commanding  officer,  Lieutenant 
Jenkins,  informing  him  that,  on  the  ist  of  June,  he  and  several  of  his  men  had 
been  made  prisoners  by  stratagem,  on  which  the  rest  of  the  garrison  had 
surrendered.  The  Indians,  however,  apologized  for  their  conduct,  de- 
claring that  they  acted  contrary  to  their  own  inclinations,  and  that  the 
surrounding  tribes  had  compelled  them  to  take  up  the  hatchet. 

"Close  upon  these  tidings  came  the  news  that  Fort  Miami  was  taken. 
This  post,  standing  on  the  River  Maumee,  was  commanded  by  Ensign 
Holmes.  ' 

"  The  loss  of  Presque  Isle  will  close  this  black  catalogue  of  calamity. 
Rumors  of  it  first  reached  Detroit  on  the  20th  of  June,  and  two  days  later 
the  garrison  heard  those  dismal  cries,  announcing  scalps  and  prisoners, 
which,  of  late,  had  grown  mournfully  familiar  to  their  ears.     Indians  were 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  129 

seen  passing  in  numbers  along  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  leading 
several  English  prisoners,  who  proved  to  be  Ensign  Christie,  the  command- 
ing officer  at  Presque  Isle,  with  those  of  his  soldiers  who  survived.  There 
had  been  hot  fighting  before  Presque  Isle  was  taken. 

"At  early  dawn  on  the  15th  of  June  the  garrison  of  Presque  Isle  were 
first  aware  of  the  enemy's  presence ;  and  when  the  sun  rose  they  saw  them- 
selves surrounded  by  two  hundred  Indians,  chiefly  from  the  neighborhood 
of  Detroit.  At  the  first  alarm  they  abandoned  the  main  body  of  the  fort, 
and  betook  themselves  to  the  block-house  as  a  citadel.  The  Indians  crowd- 
ing together  in  great  numbers,  under  cover  of  the  rising  ground,  kept  up  a 
rattling  fire,  and  not  only  sent  their  bullets  into  every  loop-hole  and  crev- 
ice, but  shot  fire-arrows  uj>on  the  roof,  and  threw  balls  of  burning  pitch 
against  the  walls.  Again  and  again  the  building  took  fire,  and  again  and 
again  the  flames  were  extinguished.  From  earliest  daybreak  the  little  gar- 
rison had  fought  and  toiled  without  a  moment's  rest.  Nor  did  the  darkness 
bring  relief,  for  guns  flashed  all  night  long  from  the  Indian  intrenchments. 
Morning  brought  fresh  dangers.  The  men  were  now,  to  use  the  words 
of  their  officer,  'exhausted  to  the  greatest  extremity;'  yet  they  kept  up 
their  forlorn  and  desperate  defense,  toiling  and  fighting  without  pause 
within  the  wooden  walls  of  their  dark  prison,  where  the  close  and  heated 
atmosphere  was  clogged  with  the  smoke  of  gunpowder.  The  fire  on  both 
sides  continued  through  the  day,  and  did  not  cease  till  midnight,  at  which 
hour  a  voice  was  heard  to  call  out  in  French,  from  the  enemy's  intrench- 
ments, warning  the  garrison  that  further  resistance  would  be  useless,  since 
preparations  were  made  for  setting  the  block-house  on  fire.  Christie  de- 
manded if  there  were  any  among  them  who  spoke  English ;  upon  which  a 
man  in  the  Indian  dress  came  out  from  behind  the  breastwork.  He  said 
that  if  they  yielded  their  lives  should  be  spared,  but  if  they  fought  longer 
they  nmst  all  be  burnt  alive.  Christie,  resolving  to  hold  out  as  long  as  a 
shadow  of  hope  remained,  told  them  to  wait  till  morning  for  his  answer. 
When  morning  came  Christie  sent  out  two  soldiers,  as  if  to  treat  with  the 
enemy,  but,  in  reality,  to  learn  the  truth  of  what  they  had  said  respecting 
their  preparations  to  burn  the  block-house.  On  reaching  the  breastwork 
the  soldiers  made  a  signal,  by  which  their  officer  saw  that  his  worst  fears 
were  well  founded,  and  Christie,  going  out,  yielded  up  the  little  fortress 
which  he  had  defended  with  such  indomitable  courage,  having  first  stipu- 
Vdted  that  the  lives  of  all  the  garrison  should  be  spared,  and  that  they  might 

9 


I30  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

retire  unmolested  to  the  nearest  post.  The  soldiers,  pale,  wild,  and  haggard, 
like  men  who  had  passed  through  a  fiery  ordeal,  now  issued  from  the 
block-house,  whose  sides  were  pierced  with  bullets  and  scorched  with  fire. 
In  spite  of  the  capitulation,  they  were  surrounded  and  seized,  and  having 
been  detained  for  some  time  in  the  neighborhood,  were  sent  as  prisoners 
to  Detroit,  where  Ensign  Christie  soon  after  made  his  escape,  and  gained 
the  fort  in  safety. 

"After  Presque  Isle  was  taken,  the  neighboring  little  posts  of  Le 
Boeuf  and  Venango  shared  its  fate,  while  farther  southward,  at  the  forks 
of  the  Ohio,  a  host  of  Delaware  and  Shawanese  warriors  were  gathering 
around  Fort  Pitt,  and  blood  and  havoc  reigned  along  the  whole  frontier. 

"  On  the  19th  of  June  a  rumor  reached  them,  at  Detroit,  that  one  of  the 
vessels  had  been  seen  near  Turkey  Island,  some  miles  below  the  fort,  but 
that,  the  wind  failing  her,  she  had  dropped  down  with  the  current,  to  wait  a 
more  favorable  opportunity. 

i*  For  several  days  the  officers  at  Detroit  heard  nothing^ further  of  the 
vessel,  when,  on  the  23d,  a  great  commotion  was  visible  among  the  Indians. 
The  cause  of  these  movements  was  unknown  till  evening,  when  M.  Baby 
came  in  with  intelligence  that  the  vessel  was  again  attempting  to  ascend  the 
river,  and  that  all  the  Indians  had  gone  to  attack  her.  Upon  this  two 
cannon  were  fired,  that  those  on  board  might  know  that  the  fort  still 
held  out. 

"  The  schooner  brought  to  the  garrison  a  much  needed  supply  of  men, 
ammunition,  and  provision.  She  brought,  also,  the  interesting  and  im- 
portant tidings  that  peace  was  at  length  concluded  between  France  and 
England.  By  this  treaty  the  Canadians  of  Detroit  were  placed  in  a  new  po- 
sition ;  their  allegiance  was  transferred  from  the  crown  of  France  to  that  of 
Britain,  and  they  were  subjects  of  the  English  king.  To  many  of  them  the 
change  was  extremely  odious,  for  they  cordially  hated  the  British.  They 
went  about  among  the  settlers  and  the  Indians,  declaring  that  the  pre- 
tended news  of  peace  was  only  an  invention  of  Major  Gladwyn ;  that  the 
king  of  France  would  never  abandon  his  children.  This  oft-repeated  false- 
hood was  implicitly  believed  by  the  Indians. 

"  Pontiac  himself  clung  fast  to  this  delusive  hope.  He  exerted  himself 
with  fresh  zeal  to  gain  possession  of  the  place,  and  attempted  to  terrify 
Gladwyn  into  submission.  He  sent  a  message,  in  which  he  strongly  urged 
him  to  surrender,  adding,  by   way  of  stinnilus,  that  eight   hundred  more 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  1 3 1 

Ojibways  were  every  day  expected,  and  that,  on  their  arrival,  all  his  influ- 
ence could  not  prevent  them  from  taking  the  scalp  of  every  Englishman  in 
the  fort  To  this  friendly  advice  Gladwyn  returned  a  very  brief  and  con- 
temptuous answer. 

"  Pontiac,  having  long  been  anxious  to  gain  the  Canadians  as  auxiliaries 
in  the  war,  now  determined  on  a  final  effort  to  eflFect  his  object.  For  this 
purpose  he  sent  messages  to  the  principal  inhabitants,  inviting  them  to 
meet  him  in  council.  In  the  Ottawa  camp  there  was  a  vacant  spot,  quite 
level,  and  encircled  by  the  huts  of  the  Indians.  Here  mats  were  spread  for 
the  reception  of  the  deputies,  who  soon  convened,  and  took  their  seats  in  a 
wide  ring.  One  part  was  occupied  by  the  Canadians,  among  whom  were 
several  whose  withered,  leathery  features  proclaimed  them  the  patriarchs  of 
the  secluded  little  settlement.  Opposite  these  sat  the  stern- visaged  Pon- 
tiac, with  his  chiefs  on  either  hand,  while  the  intervening  portions  of  the 
circle  were  filled  by  Canadians  and  Indians  promiscuously  mingled. 
Standing  on  the  outside,  and  looking  over  the  heads  of  this  more  dignified 
assemblage,  was  a  motley  throng  of  Indians  and  Canadians,  half-breeds, 
trappers,  and  voyageurs,  in  wild  and  picturesque,  though  very  dirty,  attire. 
Conspicuous  among  them  were  numerous  Indian  dandies,  a  large  class  in 
every  aboriginal  community. 

"All  was  silent,  and  several  pipes  were  passing  round  from  hand  to 
hand,  when  Pontiac  rose  and  threw  down  a  war-belt  at  the  feet  of  the 
Canadians. 

" '  My  brothers,'  he  said  '  how  long  will  you  suff"er  this  bad  flesh  to  re- 
main upon  your  lands  ?  I  have  told  you  before,  and  I  now  tell  you  again, 
that  when  I  took  up  the  hatchet,  it  was  for  your  good.  This  year  the  En- 
glish must  all  perish  throughout  Canada.  Until  now  I  have  said  nothing 
on  this  matter.  I  have  not  urged  you  to  take  part  with  us  in  the  war.  It 
would  have  been  enough  had  you  been  content  to  sit  quiet  on  your  mats, 
looking  on,  while  we  were  fighting  for  you ;  but  you  have  have  not  done  so. 
You  call  yourself  our  friends,  and  yet  you  assist  the  English  with  provision, 
and  go  about  as  spies  among  our  villages.  This  must  not  continue.  You 
must  be  either  wholly  French  or  wholly  English.  If  you  are  French,  take 
up  that  war-belt  and  lift  the  hatchet  with  us;  but  if  you  are  English,  then 
we  declare  war  upon  you.     Look  upon  the  belt,  and  let  us  hear  your  answer.' 

"  One  of  the  Canadians,  having  suspected  the  purpose  of  Pontiac,  had 
brought  with  him,  not  the  treaty  of  peace,  but  a  copy  of  the  capitulation  of 


132  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

Montreal,  with  its  dependencies,  including  Detroit.  Pride,  or  some  other 
motive,  restrained  him  from  confessing  that  the  Canadians  were  no  longer 
children  of  the  king  of  France,  and  he  determined  to  keep  up  the  old  de- 
lusion that  a  French  army  was  on  its  way  to  win  back  Canada,  and  chastise 
the  English  invaders.  He  began  his  speech  in  reply  to  Pontiac  by  profess- 
ing great  love  for  the  Indians,  and  a  strong  desire  to  aid  them  in  the  war. 
'But,  my  brothers,'  he  added,  holding  out  the  articles  of  capitulation,  'you 
must  first  untie  the  knot  with  which  our  great  father,  the  king,  has  bound 
us.  In  this  paper  he  te^ls  all  his  Canadian  children  to  sit  quiet  and  obey 
the  English  until  he  comes.  We  dare  not  disobey  him.  Do  you  think  you 
could  escape  his  wrath  if  you  should  raise  the  hatchet  against  his  French 
children  ?    Tell  us,  my  brothers,  what  can  you  reply  to  this  ?' 

"  Pontiac  for  a  moment  sat  silent,  mortified,  and  perplexed ;  but  his 
purpose  was  not  destined  to  be  wholly  defeated.  *  Among  the  French,'  says 
the  writer  of  the  diary,  'were  many  infamous  characters,  who,  having  no 
property,  cared  nothing  what  became  of  them.'  They  were,  for  the  most 
part,  a  light  and  frivolous  crew,  little  to  be  relied  on  for  energy  or  stability ; 
though  among  them  were  men  of  hard  and  ruffian  features,  the  ringleaders 
and  bullies  of  the  voyageurs,  and  even  a  terror  to  the  bourgeois  himself. 
It  was  one  of  these  who  now  took  up  the  war-belt,  and  declared  that  he  and 
his  comrades  were  ready  to  raise  the  hatchet  for  Pontiac.  The  council  had 
been  protracted  to  a  late  hour.  It  was  dark  before  the  assembly  dissolved ; 
'  so  that.'  as  the  chronicler  observes,  'these  new  Indians  had  no  opportunity 
of  displaying  their  exploits  that  day.' 

"Pontiac  derived  little  advantage  from  his  Canadian  allies.  On  the 
night  succeeding  the  feast  a  party  of  the  renegades,  joined  by  about  an 
equal  number  of  Indians,  approached  the  fort.  They  were  observed,  the 
gate  was  thrown  open,  and  a  file  of  men,  headed  by  Lieutenant  Hay,  sallied 
out  to  dislodge  them.     This  was  effiected  without  much  difficulty. 

*'  Until  the  end  of  July,  little  worthy  of  notice  took  place  at  Detroit. 
In  the  meantime,  unknown  to  the  garrison,  a  strong  re-enforcement  was 
coming  to  their  aid.  Captain  Dalzell  had  left  Niagara  with  twenty-two  barges, 
bearing  two  hundred  and  eighty  men,  with  several  small  cannon,  and  a 
fresh  supply  of  provision  and  ammunition. 

"  On  the  day  of  his  arrival  he  had  a  conference  with  Gladwyn  at  the 
quarters  of  the  latter,  and  strongly  insisted  that  the  time  was  come  when 
an  irrecoverable  blow  might  be  struck  at  Pontiac.     He  requested  perniissiou 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  1 33 

to  march  out  on  the  following  night  and  attack  the  Indian  camp.  Glad- 
wyn,  better  acquainted  with  the  position  of  affairs,  and,  perhaps,  more  cau- 
tious by  nature,  was  averse  to  the  attempt ;  but  Dalzell  urged  his  request  so 
strenuously  that  the  commandant  yielded  to  his  representation,  and  gave  a 
tardy  consent.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  30th  orders  were  issued  and  prep- 
arations made  for  the  meditated  attack. 

"About  two  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  the  31st  of  July,  the  gates  were 
thrown  open  in  silence,  and  the  detachment,  two  hundred  and  fifty  in 
number,  passed  noiselessly  out. 

"A  mile  and  a  half  from  the  fort,  Parent's  Creek,  ever  since  that  night 
called  'Bloody  Run,'  descended  through  a  wild  and  rough  hollow,  and  en- 
tered the  Detroit  amid  a  growth  of  rank  grass  and  sedge.  Only  a  few  rods 
from  its  mouth  the  road  crossed  it  by  a  narrow  wooden  bridge,  not  existing 
at  the  present  day.  The  advanced  guard  were  half-way  over  the  bridge,  and 
the  main  body  just  entering  upon  it,  when  a  horrible  burst  of  yells  rose  in 
their  front,  and  the  Indian  guns  blazed  forth  a  general  discharge.  Half  the 
advanced  party  were  shot  down;  but  Dalz^l  shouted  from  the  van,  and,  in 
madness  of  mingled  rage  and  fear,  they  charged  at  a  run  across  the  bridge 
and  up  the  heights  beyond.  Not  an  Indian  was  there  to  oppose  them. 
In  vain  the  furious  soldiers  sought  their  enemy  behind  fences  and  in- 
trenchments.  The  active  savages  had  fled ;  yet  still  their  guns  flashed 
thick  through  the  gloom,  and  their  war-crj'  rose  with  undiminished 
clamor.  The  English  pushed  forward  amid  the  pitchy  darkness.  At 
every  pause  they  made,  the  retiring  enemy  would  gather  to  renew  the  at- 
tack, firing  back  hotly  uj)on  the  front  and  flanks.  To  advance  further 
would  be  useless,  and  the  only  alternative  was  to  withdraw  and  wait  for 
daylight.  This  task  was  commenced  amid  a  sharp  fire  from  both  sides; 
and  before  it  was  completed,  heavy  volleys  were  heard  from  the  rear, 
where  Captain  Grant  was  stationed.  It  was  now  evident  that  instant  re- 
treat was  necessary;  and  the  command  being  issued  to  that  effect,  the  men 
fell  back  into  marching  order,  and  slowly  began  their  retrograde  move- 
ment. Grant  was  now  in  the  van,  and  Dalzell  at  the  rear.  They  reached 
a  point  where,  close  upon  the  right,  were  many  barns  and  out-houses, 
with  strong  picket  fences.  Behind  these,  and  in  a  newly  dug  cellar  close 
at  hand,  lay  concealed  a  great  multitude  of  Indians.  They  suffered  the 
advanced  party  to  pass  unmolested,  but  when  the  center  and  rear  came 
opposite  their  ambuscade,  they  raised  a  frightful  yell,  and  poured  a  volley 


134  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

among  them.  The  men  had  well-nigh  /alien  into  a  panic,  and  but  for 
the  presence  of  Dalzell,  the  retreat  would  have  been  turned  into  a  flight. 
*  The  enemy,'  writes  an  officer  who  was  in  the  light,  *  marked  him  for 
his  extraordinary  bravery;'  and  he  had  already  received  two  severe 
wounds.  Yet  his  exertions  did  not  slacken  for  a  moment.  Some  of  the 
soldiers  he  rebuked,  some  he  threatened,  and  some  he  beat  with  the  flat 
of  his  sword. 

"  The  enemy  had  taken  possession  of  a  house,  from  the  windows  of 
which  they  fired  down  upon  the  English.  Major  Rogers,  with  some  of 
his  provincial  rangers,  burst  the  door  with  an  axe,  rushed  in,  and  expelled 
them,  and  now  the  fire  of  the  Indians,  being  much  diminished,  the  re- 
treat was  resumed.  No  sooner  had  the  men  faced  about,  than  the  savages 
came  darting  through  the  mist  upon  their  flank  and  rear,  cutting  down 
stragglers,  and  scalping  the  fallen.  At  a  little  distance  lay  a  sergeant  of 
the  55th,  helplessly  wounded;  raising  himself  on  his  hands,  and  gazing 
with  a  look  of  despair  after  his  retiring  comrades.  The  sight  caught  the 
eye  of  Dalzell.  That  gallant  soldier,  in  the  true  spirit  of  heroism,  ran 
out  amid  the  firing  to  rescue  the  wounded  man,  when  a  shot  struck  him, 
and  he  fell  dead. 

"In  the  meantime,  Captain  Grant,  with  his  advanced  party,  had  moved 
forward  about  half  a  mile,  where  he  found  some  orchards  and  inclosures, 
by  means  of  which  he  could  maintain  himself  until  the  center  and  rear 
should  arrive.  From  this  point  he  detached  all  the  men  he  could  spare  to 
occupy  the  houses  below ;  and  as  soldiers  soon  began  to  come  in  from  the 
rear,  he  was  enabled  to  re-enforce  these  detachments,  until  a  complete  line 
of  communication  was  established  with  the  fort,  and  the  retreat  eff"ect- 
ually  secured.  Within  an  hour  the  whole  party  had  arrived,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Rogers  and  his  men,  who  were  quite  unable  to  come  off",  being 
besieged  in  the  house  of  Campan  by  full  two  hundred  Indians.  The  two 
armed  bateaux  had  gone  down  to  the  fort,  laden  with  the  dead  and 
wounded.  They  now  returned,  and  in  obedience  to  an  order  from  Grant, 
proceeded  up  the  river  to  a  point  opposite  Campan's  house,  where  they 
opened  a  fire  of  swivels,  which  swept  the  ground  above  and  below  it,  and 
completely  scattered  the  assailants.  Rogers  and  his  party  now  came  out, 
and  marched  down  the  road  to  unite  themselves  with  Grant.  The  two 
bateaux  accompanied  them  closely,  and,  by  a  constant  fire,  restrained  the 
Indians  from  making  an  attack. 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  135 

"  About  eight  o'clock,  after  six  hours  of  marching  and  combat,  the  de- 
tachment entered  once  more  within  the  sheltering  palisades  of  Detroit. 

"  The  Indians  were  greatly  elated  by  their  success.  Runners  were  sent 
out  for  several  hundred  miles  through  the  surrounding  woods,  to  spread 
tidings  of  the  victory ;  and  re-enforcements  soon  began  to  come  in  to  swell 
the  force  of  Pontiac.  'Fresh  warriors,'  writes  Gladwyn,  'arrive  almost 
every  day,  and  I  believe  that  I  shall  soon  be  besieged  by  upwards  of  a 
thousand.'  But  nothing  worthy  of  notice  occurred,  until  the  night  of  the 
4th  of  September. 

'•  The  schooner  Gladwyn,  the  smaller  of  the  two  armed  vessels  so  often 
mentioned,  had  been  sent  down  to  Niagara  with  letters  and  dispatches. 
She  was  now  returning.  The  night  set  in  with  darkness  so  complete  that 
at  the  distance  of  a  few  rods  nothing  could  be  discerned.  Meantime, 
three  hundred  and  fifty  Indians,  in  their  birch  canoes,  glided  silently  down 
with  the  current,  and  were  close  upon  the  vessel  before  they  were  seen. 
There  was  only  time  to  fire  a  single  cannon-shot  among  them  before  they 
were  beneath  her  bows  and  clambering  up  her  sides,  holding  their  knives 
clinched  fast  l^etween  their  teeth  The  crew  gave  them  a  close  fire  of  mus- 
ketry, without  any  effect ;  then,  flinging  down  their  guns,  they  seized  the 
spears  and  hatchets  with  which  they  were  all  provided,  and  met  the  assail- 
ants with  such  furious  energy  and  courage  that  in  the  space  of  two  or  three 
minutes  they  had  killed  and  wounded  more  than  twice  their  own  number. 
But  the  Indians  were  only  checked  for  a  moment.  The  master  of  the  ves- 
sel was  killed,  several  of  the  crew  were  disabled,  and  the  assailants  were 
leaping  over  the  bulwarks,  when  Jacobs,  the  mate,  called  out  to  blow  up  the 
schooner.  This  desperate  command  saved  her  and  her  crew.  Some  Wy- 
andots,  who  had  gained  the  deck,  caught  the  meaning  of  his  words,  and 
gave  the  alarm  to  their  companions.  Instantly  every  Indian  leaped  over- 
board in  a  panic,  and  the  whole  were  seen  diving  and  swimming  off 
in  all  directions,  to  escape  the  threatened  explosion.  The  schooner  was 
cleared  of  her  assailants,  who  did  not  dare  to  renew  the  attack ;  and  on  the 
following  morning  she  sailed  for  the  fort,  which  she  reached  without 
molestation." 

From  Dunmore's  War,  through  the  French  and  English  con- 
test, through  the  Revolution,  through  the  surrender  of  the  lake 
forts  by  the  English,  through  St.  Clair's  disastrous  defeat,  through 


13^  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

the  joy  of  "  Mad  Anthony  "  Wayne's  victory  and  the  glory  of  the 
Thames  and  Tippecanoe,  down  to  the  final  pacification  of  the 
border  by  General  William  Henry  Harrison,  the  "  Pioneers  of 
the  West"  were  in  the  fore-front  of  battle.  From  first  to  last 
the  older  records  best  tell  the  story. 

"  The  battle  of  Point  Pleasant  took  place  in  Dunmore's  War,  October 
lo,  1774.  It  was  the  bloodiest  battle  perhaps  ever  fought  with  the  Indians 
in  Virginia.  It  had  its  origin  in  a  variety  of  causes ;  but  that  which  more 
than  all  others  hastened  the  crisis  was  the  murder  of  the  family  of  Logan 
by  the  whites,  at  or  near  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Creek.  This  disgraceful  act 
is,  by  some,  imputed  to  Colonel  Cresap,  a  distinguished  frontiersman,  who 
resided  near  the  town  of  Wheeling.  Logan  at  least  believed  him  to  be  the 
guilty  party.  By  others  it  is  strongly  denied  that  Colonel  Cresap  was  a  par- 
ticipant in  the  affair.  But,  be  this  as  it  may,  the  act,  in  addition  to  other 
exasperations,  had  greatly  incensed  the  Indian  tribes  on  the  north  of  the 
Ohio  River. 

*'  To  protect  the  settlements  bordering  on  the  Upper  Ohio,  it  soon  be- 
came necessary  to  organize  an  army  in  the  East  sufl&cient  to  operate  against 
the  savages. 

"  The  army  destined  for  the  expedition  was  composed  of  volunteers  and 
militia,  chiefly  from  the  counties  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  consisted  of 
two  divisions.  The  Northern  Division,  comprehending  the  troops  collected 
in  Frederick,  Dunmore  (now  Shenandoah),  and  the  adjacent  counties,  was 
to  be  conmianded  by  Lord  Dunmore  in  person ;  and  the  Southern,  com- 
prising the  different  companies  raised  in  Bottetourt,  Augusta,  and  the  ad- 
joining counties  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  was  to  be  led  on  by  General 
Andrew  Lewis.  These  two  divisions,  proceeding  by  different  routes,  were 
to  form  a  junction  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Kanawha,  and  from  thence  pen- 
etrate the  country  north-west  of  the  Ohio  River,  as  far  as  the  season  would 
permit,  and  destroy  all  the  Indian  towns  and  villages  they  could  reach. 

"When  the  Southern  Division  arrived  at  Point  Pleasant,  Governor 
Dunmore,  with  the  forces  under  his  command,  had  not  reached  there; 
however,  advices  were  received  from  his  lordship  that  he  had  determined 
on  proceeding  across  the  country  directly   to   the   Shawnee   towns,*  and 


On  the  Scioto  River,  about  eighty  miles  north-west  of  Point  Pleasant- 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  137 

ordering  General  Lewis  to  cross  the  river,  march  forward  and  fomi  a  junc- 
tion with  him  near  to  them.  These  advices  were  received  on  the  9th  of 
October,  and  preparations  were  immediately  commenced  for  the  transporta- 
tion of  the  troops  over  the  Ohio  River. 

"  Early  on  the  morning  of  Monday,  the  loth  of  that  month,  two  sol- 
diers left  the  camp  and  proceeded  up  the  Ohio  River  in  quest  of  deer. 
When  they  progressed  about  two  miles,  they  unexpectedly  came  in  sight 
of  a  large  number  of  Indians  rising  from  their  encampment,  and  who, 
discovering  the  hunters,  fired  upon  them  and  killed  one;  the  other  es- 
caped unhurt,  and,  running  briskly  to  the  camp,  communicated  the  intel- 
ligence 'that  he  had  seen  a  body  of  the  enemy  covering  four  acres  of 
ground  as  closely  as  they  could  stand  by  the  side  of  each  other.'  The 
main  part  of  the  army  was  immediately  ordered  out  under  Colonel  Lewis 
and  William  Fleming,  and,  having  formed  into  two  lines,  they  proceeded 
about  four  hundred  yards,  when  they  met  the  Indians,  and  the  action 
commenced. 

"  At  the  first  onset.  Colonel  Charles  Lewis  having  fallen,  and  Colonel 
Fleming  being  wounded,  both  lines  gave  way,  and  were  retreating  briskly 
toward  the  camp,  when  they  were  met  by  a  re-enforcement  under  Colonel 
Field,  and  rallied.  The  engagement  then  became  general,  and  was  sus- 
tained by  the  most  obstinate  fury  on  both  sides.  The  Indians,  perceiving 
that  the  '  tug  of  war '  had  come,  and  determined  on  affording  the  Colonial 
army  no  chance  of  escape  if  victory  should  declare  for  them,  formed  a  line 
extending  across  the  point  from  the  Ohio  to  the  Kanawha,  and  protected  in 
front  by  logs  and  fallen  timber.  In  this  situation  they  maintained  the 
contest  with  unabated  vigor  from  sunrise  till  toward  the  close  of  evening, 
bravely  and  successfully  resisting  every  charge  which  was  made  on  them, 
and  withstanding  the  impetuosity  of  every  onset  with  the  most  invincible 
firmness,  until  a  fortunate  movement  on  the  part  of  the  Virginian  troops 
decided  the  day. 

"  Some  short  distance  above  the  entrance  of  the  Kanawha  River  into 
the  Ohio  there  is  a  stream  called  Crooked  Creek,  emptying  into  the  former  . 
of  these  from  the  north-east,  whose  banks  are  tolerably  high,  and  were  then 
covered  with  a  thick  and  luxuriant  growth  of  weeds.  Seeing  the  imprac- 
ticability of  dislodging  the  Indians  by  the  most  vigorous  attack,  and  sensible 
of  the  great  danger  which  must  arise  to  his  army  if  the  contest  were  not 
decided  before  night.  General  Lewis  detached  the  three  companies  which 


138  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO, 

were  commanded  by  Captains  Isaac  Shelby,  George  Matthews,  and  John 
Stewart,  with  orders  to  proceed  up  the  Kanawha  River  and  Crooked  Creek, 
utider  cover  of  the  banks  and  weeds,  till  they  could  pass  some  distance  be- 
yond the  enemy,  when  they  were  to  emerge  from  their  covert,  march  down- 
ward toward  the  point,  and  attack  the  Indians  in  the  rear.  The  maneuver 
thus  planned  was  promptly  executed,  and  gave  a  decided  victory  to  the 
Colonial  army.  The  Indians,  finding  themselves  suddenly  and  unexpect- 
edly encompassed  between  two  armies,  and  not  doubting  but  in  the  rear 
was  the  looked-for  re-enforcement  under  Colonel  Christian,  soon  gave  way, 
and  about  sundown  commenced  a  precipitate  retreat  across  the  Ohio  to  the 
towns  on  the  Scioto. 

"  The  victory  indeed  was  decisive,  and  many  advantages  were  obtained 
by  it,  but  they  were  not  cheaply  bought.  The  Virginian  army  sustained  in 
this  engagement  a  loss  of  seventy-five  killed  and  one  hundred  and  forty 
wounded,  about  one-fifth  of  the  entire  number  of  troops. 

"  Nor  could  the  number  of  the  -enemy  engaged  be  ever  ascertained. 
Their  army  is  known  to  have  been  made  up  of  warriors  from  the  different 
nations  north  of  the  Ohio,  and  to  have  comprised  the  flower  of  the  tribes 
already  mentioned.  The  distinguished  chief  and  consummate  warrior. 
Cornstalk,  who  commanded  their  forces,  proved  himself  on  that  day  to  be 
justly  entitled  to  the  prominent  station  which  he  occupied.  His  plan  of 
alternate  retreat  and  attack  was  well  conceived,  and  occasioned  the  princi- 
pal loss  sustained  by  the  whites.  If  at  any  time  his  warriors  were  believed 
to  waver,  his  voice  could  be  heard  above  the  din  of  arms,  exclaiming  in  his 
native  tongue:  'Be  strong!  Be  strong!'  And  when  one  near  him,  by  trepi- 
dation and  reluctance  to  proceed  to  the  charge,  evinced  a  dastardly  disposi- 
tion, fearing  the  example  might  have  a  pernicious  influence,  with  one  blow 
of  the  tomahawk  he  severed  his  skull.  It  was  perhaps  a  solitary  instanct 
in  which  terror  predominated.  Never  did  men  exhibit  a  more  conclusive 
evidence  of  bravery  in  making  a  charge,  and  fortitude  in  withstanding 
an  onset,  than  did  those  undisciplined  soldiers  of  the  forest  in  the  field  at 
Point  Pleasant. 

"  Having  buried  the  dead,  and  made  every  arrangement  of  which  their  sit- 
uation admitted  for  the  comfort  of  the  wounded,  intrenchments  were  thrown 
up,  and  the  army  commenced  its  march  to  form  a  junction  with  the  northerq 
division  under  Lord  Dunmore.  Proceeding  by  the  way  of  the  Salt  Licks 
General  Lewis  pressed  forward  with  astonishing  rapidity  (considering  that 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  139 

the  march  was  thv>iigh  a  trackless  desert) ;  but  before  he  had  gone  far  an  ex- 
press arrived  from  Dunmore  with_orders  to  return  immediately  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Big  Kanawha.  Suspecting  the  integrity  of  his  lordship's  motives, 
and  urged  by  the  advice  of  his  officers  generally,  General  Lewis  refused  to 
obey  these  orders,  and  continued  to  advance  till  he  was  met  at  Kilkenny 
Creek,®  and  in  sight  of  an  Indian  village  which  its  inhabitants  had  just 
fired  and  deserted,  by  the  governor,  accompanied  by  White  Eyes,  who 
informed  him  that  he  was  negotiating  a  treaty  of  peace,  which  would 
supersede  the  necessity  of  any  further  movement  of  the  Southern  Division, 
and  repeated  the  order  for  his  return. 

"  On  his  arrival  at  Point  Pleasant,  General  Lewis  left  a  sufficient  force 
to  protect  the  place,  and  a  supply  of  provisions  for  the  wounded,  and  then 
led  the  balance  of  the  division  to  the  place  of  rendezvous  (Lewisburg)  and 
disbanded  them." 

Into  this  story  of  Dunmore's  War  comes  a  sadder  page;  for  it 
emphasizes  a  history  which  runs  through  more  than  one  *'  Cent- 
ury of  Dishonor!" — the  history  of  the  Indians'  wrongs  and  the 
Government's  shame : 

"  Cornstalk  had,  from  the  first,  opposed  the  war  with  the  whites,  and 
when  his  scouts  reported  the  advance  of  General  Lewis's  division  the  saga- 
cious chief  did  all  he  could  to  restrain  his  men  and  keep  them  from  battle. 
But  all  his  remonstrances  were  in  vain,  and  it  was  then  he  told  them,  '  As 
you  are  determined  to  fight,  you  shall  fight'  After  their  defeat  and  returr^ 
home,  a  council  was  convened  to  determine  upon  what  was  next  to  be  done. 
The  stern  old  chief  said,  rising :  '  What  shall  we  do  now?  The  Long  Knives 
are  coming  upon  us  by  two  routes.  Shall  we  turn  out  and  fight  them  ? 
Shall  we  kill  all  our  squaws  and  children,  and  then  fight  until  we  are  killed 
ourselves?'  Still  the  congregated  warriors  were  silent,  and,  after  a  mo- 
ment's hesitation,  Cornstalk  struck  his  tomahawk  into  the  war-post,  and 
with  compressed  lips  and  flashing  eyes  gazed  around  the  assembled  group ; 
then,  with  great  emphasis,  spoke :  '  Since  you  are  not  inclined  to  fight  I  will 
go  and  make  peace.' 

"  Lord  Dunmore,  on  his  return  to  Camp  Charlotte,  concluded  a  treaty 


*  Congo,  a  branch  of  the  Scioto. 


I40  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

with  the  Indians.  Cornstalk  was  the  chief  speaker  on  the  part  of  the  In- 
dians. He  openly  charged  the  whites  with  being  the  sole  cause  of  the  war, 
enumerating  the  many  provocations  which  the  Indians  had  received,  and 
dwelling  with  great  force  and.  emphasis  upon  the  diabolical  murder  of 
Logan's  family.  This  great  chief  spoke  in  the  most  vehement  and  denun- 
ciatory style.  His  loud,  clear  voice  was  distinctly  heard  throughout 
the  camp. 

"But  there  was  one  who  would  not  attend  the  camp  of  Lord  Dunmore, 
and  that  was  Logan.  The  Mingo  chief  felt  the  chill  of  despair  at  his 
heart ;  his  very  soul  seemed  frozen  within  him ;  and,  although  he  would  iiot 
interpose  obstacles  to  an  amicable  adjustment  of  existing  difficulties,  still 
he  could  not  meet  the  Long  Knives  in  council  as  if  no  terrible  stain  of 
blood  rested  upon  their  hands.  He  remained  at  a  distance,  brooding  in 
melancholy  silence  over  his  accumulated  wrongs  during  most  of  the  time 
his  friends  were  negotiating.  But  Dunmore  felt  the  importance  of  at  least 
securing  his  assent,  and  for  that  purpose  sent  a  special  messenger,  Colonel 
John  Gibson,  who  waited  upon  the  chief  at  his  wigwam.  The  messenger  in 
due  time  returned,  bringing  with  him  the  celebrated  speech  which  has  given 
its  author  an  immortality  almost  as  imperishable  as  that  of  the  great  Athe- 
nian orator.  The  speech  was  probably  prepared  by  Colonel  John  Gibson, 
and  polished  either  by  himself  or  some  one  else  skilled  in  the  art  of  com- 
position. Its  authorship  has  been  ascribed  to  Mr.  Jefferson.  But  after 
reading  the  highly  eulogistic  terms  in  which  that  gentleman  speaks  of  it, 
one  could  hardly  suppose  it  to  have  been  written  by  him.  He  says :  '  I  may 
challenge  the  whole  orations  of  Demosthenes  and  Cicero,  and  of  any  mere 
eminent  orator  (if  Europe  has  furnished  a  more  eminent),  to  produce  a 
single  passage  superior  to  it.*  This  would  be  rather  too  much  for  any 
modest  writer  to  say  of  his  own  performance.  It  may  be  added,  that  De  Witt 
Clinton  indorsed  the  opinion  expressed  by  Mr.  Jefferson  as  to  this  celebrated 
speech. 

"  But  that  the  intelligent  reader  may  judge  for  himself,  the  speech  of 
Logan,  as  found  in  Jefferson's  Notes,  is  given  here : 

*"I  appeal,'  says  he,  *to  any  white  man  to  say,  if  he  ever  entered 
Logan's  cabin  hungry,  and  he  gave  him  not  meat ;  if  he  ever  came  cold 
and  naked,  and  he  clothed  him  not.  During  the  course  of  the  last  long 
and  bloody  war,  Logan  remained  idle  in  his  cabin  and  advocated  peace. 
Such  was  my  love  for  the  whites,  that  my  countrymen  pointed  as  they 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS,      ^  141 

passed  and  said,  "Logan  is  the  friend  of  the  white  man."  1  had  even 
thought  to  live  with  you  but  for  the  injuries  of  one  man.  Colonel  Cresap, 
the  last  Spring,  in  cold  blood  and  unprovoked,  murdered  all  the  relations 
of  Logan,  not  even  sparing  my  women  and  children.  There  runs  not  a 
drop  of  my  blood  in  the  veins  of  any  living  creature.  This  called  on  me 
for  revenge.  I  have  sought  it ;  I  have  killed  many ;  I  have  fully  glutted 
my  vengeance.  For  my  country,  I  rejoice  at  the  beams  of  peace,  but  do 
not  harbor  the  thought  that  mine  is  the  joy  of  fear.  Logan  never  felt  fear. 
He  will  not  turn  on  his  heel  to  save  his  life.  Who  is  there  to  mourn  for 
Logan  ?    Not  one.' 

"In  the  year  1777  the  Indians,  being  urged  by  British  agents,  became 
very  troublesome  to  the  frontier  settlements,  manifesting  much  appearance 
of  hostility,  when  Cornstalk,  with  Redhawk,  paid  a  visit  to  the  garrison 
at  Point  Pleasant.  He  made  no  secret  of  the  disposition  of  the  Indians, 
declaring  that  on  his  part  he  was  opposed  to  joining  in  the  war  on  the  side 
of  the  British,  but  that  all  the  nations  except  himself  and  his  own  tribe 
were  determined  to  engage  in  it,  and  that  of  course  he  and  his  tribe 
would  have  to  run  with  the  stream. 

"On  this  Captain  Arbuckle  thought  proper  to  detain  him,  Redhawk, 
and  another  fellow  as  hostages,  to  prevent  the  nation  from  joining  the 
British. 

"  During  our  stay  two  young  men  by  the  names  of  Hamilton  and 
Gilmore  went  over  the  Kanawha  one  day  to  hunt  for  deer.  On  their  re- 
turn to  camp,  some  Indians  had  concealed  themselves  on  the  bank,  among 
some  weeds,  to  view  our  encampment,  and  as  Gilmore  came  along  past 
them,  they  fired  on  him  and  killed  him  on  the  bank. 

" '  Captain  Arbuckle  and  myself  were  standing  on  the  opposite  bank 
when  the  gun  fired,  and  while  we  were  considering  who  it  could  be  shoot- 
ing contrary  to  orders,  or  what  they  were  doing  over  the  river,  we  saw 
Hamilton  run  down  the  bank,  who  called  out  that  Gilmore  was  killed. 
Gilmore  was  one  of  the  company  of  Captain  John  Hall,  of  that  part  of  the 
country  now  Rockbridge  County.  The  captain  was  a  relation  of  Gilmore, 
whose  family  and  friends  were  nearly  all  killed  by  the  Indians  in  the  year 
1763,  when  Greenbrier  was  cut  off.  Hall's  men  instantly  jumped  into  a 
canoe  and  went  to  the  relief  of  Hamilton,  who  was  standing  in  momentary 
exi)ectation  of  being  put  to  death.  They  brought  the  corpse  of  Gilmore 
down  the  bank,  covered  with  blood  and  scalped,  and  put  him  into  the  canoe. 


/42  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO, 

As  they  were  passing  the  river,  I  observed  to  Captain  Arbuckle  that  the 
people  would  be  for  killing  the  hostages  as  soon  as  the  canoe  should  land. 
He  supposed  they  would  not  offer  to  commit  so  great  a  violence  upon  the 
innocent,  who  were  in  no  wise  accessory  to  the  murder  of  Gilmore.  But 
the  canoe  had  hardly  touched  the  shore  until  the  cry  was  raised,  "  Let  us 
kill  the  Indians  in  the  fort,"  and  every  man,  with  gun  in  hand,  came  up  the 
bank,  full  of  rage.  Captain  Hall  was  at  their  head  and  led  them.  Captain 
Arbuckle  and  I  met  them,  and  endeavored  to  dissuade  them  from  so  un- 
justifiable an  action ;  but  they  cocked  their  guns,  threatened  us  with  in- 
stant death  if  we  did  not  desist,  rushed  by  us  into  the  fort,  and  put  the 
Indians  to  death. 

" '  On  the  preceding  day.  Cornstalk's  son,  Elinipsico,  had  come  from 
the  nation  to  see  his  father,  and  to  know  if  he  was  well  or  alive.  When 
he  came  to  the  river  opposite  the  fort  he  hallooed.  His  father  was  at 
that  instant  in  the  act  of  delineating,  at  our  request,  with  chalk  on  the 
floor,  a  map  of  the  country  and  the  waters  between  the  Shawanese  towns 
and  the  Mississippi.  He  immediately  recognized  the  voice  of  his  son,  got 
up,  went  out,  and  answered  him.  The  young  fellow  crv, -sed  over,  and  they 
embraced  each  other  in  the  most  tender  and  affectionate  manner.  As  the 
men  advanced  to  the  door  Cornstalk  rose  up  and  met  them.  They  fired  upon 
him,  and  seven  or  eight  bullets  went  through  him.  So  fell  Cornstalk,  the 
great  warrior,  whose  name  was  bestowed  upon  him  by  the  consent  of  the 
nation  as  their  great  strength  and  support.  His  son  was  shot  dead  as  he 
sat  upon  a  stool.  Redhawk  made  an  attempt  to  go  up  the  chimney,  but 
was  shot  down.  The  other  Indian  was  shamefully  mangled,  and  I  grieved 
to  see  him  so  long  in  the  agonies  of  death. 

"  The  murder  of  Cornstalk  and  his  party  of  course  produced  its  nat- 
ural effect,  deciding  the  wavering  Shaw^anese  to  join  the  other  tribes  as 
allies  of  the  British,  and  converting  them  from  possible  friends  of  tfte  Amer- 
ican cause  into  the  most  bitter  and  relentless  enemies." 

During  the  entire  period  of  the  Revolutionary  War  there  was 
an  almost  constant  succession  of  daring  raids  and  desperate 
encounters  upon  the  Western  frontier. 

Furnished  with  English  weapons,  and  occasionally  led  by 
British  officers,  the   Indians  made   constant   inroads   into  Ken- 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  143 

tucky  and  Western  Virginia;  and  hardly  one  of  the  scattered 
settlements  south  of  the  Ohio  River  escaped  without  severe 
loss,  even  when  its  defenders  succeeded  in  beating  back  their 
assailants.  A  death  of  torture,  or  a  captivity  which  beggars  de- 
scription, awaited  the  hapless  prisoners,  taken  from  their  fancied 
security  in  the  distant  regions  far  back  of  the  line  of  block- 
houses and  stations.  In  fact,  there  was  no  assurance  or  hope  of 
safety  for  the  women  and  children,  except  the  shelter  of  the  little 
log  forts,  which  were  defended  by  the  rifles  of  the  matchless 
marksmen  of  the  border. 

The  most  life-like  sketches  of  the  time  which  we  have  been 
able  to  glean  from  the  early  chronicles,  have  already  been  pre- 
sented to  the  reader  in  brief  extracts  from  the  traditions  and 
records  of  the  "  Early  Settlements."  Nearly  all  of  these  sketches 
belong  to  the  sparsely  inhabited  era;  yet  we  must  not  lose  sight 
of  the  fact  that  the  increase  and  growth  of  these  settlements 
brought  a  fuller  life  into  the  wilderness. 

In  Kentucky,  Western  Virginia,  and  Pennsylvania  "block- 
houses "  were  still  in  existence  during  the  last  decade  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  but  around  each  a  village  had  grown.  The 
forests  between  the  "stations"  were  cut  by  wide  swaths  of  clear- 
ings ;  homely  little  cabins  were  nestled  at  the  base  of  the  linked 
chain  of  the  beautiful  rounded  hills,  which  are  the  most  distinct- 
ive characteristic  of  the  valley  of  the  Ohio ;  and  the  more  pre- 
tentious log  houses  of  the  "  proprietors  "  dotted  the  rich  bottom- 
lands of  the  south-eastern  affluents  of  the  RivER. 

The  advent  of  this  semi-civilization  had  changed  and  soft- 
ened the  savage  features  of  the  wilderness.  The  tangled  soh- 
tudes  were  awakening  into  a  new  life.  This  rich  wild  nature^ 
heretofore  jealously  guarding  her  hidden  treasures — was  now  an 


144  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

open  book  to  the  Surveyor,  who  had  followed  hard  upon  the 
footsteps  of  the  Pioneer. 

Indian  trails  were  enlarging  into  "new  roads;"  openings, 
where  adventurous  backwoodsmen  had  "  cleared  their  lots,"  were 
closing  up  and  coming  together;  and  the  regular  weekly  "  mail- 
wagon  "  rattled  across  the  "  corduroy  bridges,"  or  changed  horses 
at  the  log  stable,  under  shady,  overarching  trees ;  where,  within 
a  past  which  could  be  counted  by  single  numbers,  the  express- 
rider  had  ridden  in  hot  haste  to  distance  a  bullet  or  pass  an  am- 
buscade before  the  deadly  tomahawk  could  disable  his  horse  or 
strike  him  from  his  seat. 

From  the  villages,  where  the  houses  clustered  together  for 
good  neighborship  as  well  as  for  defense,  the  "  clearings  "  began 
to  stretch  out  over  the  swelling  ridges,  exhibiting  their  summer's 
wealth  in  wide,  billowy  waves  of  yellow  corn  and  green  pastures ; 
and  on  the  sunny  southern  slopes  peach  and  apple  orchards 
marked  the  coming  of  spring,  with  their  delicate  sweet  blossoms. 
The  bronze-crested,  flame-throated,  purple-winged  humming-bird, 
leaving  his  Winter  home  by  the  Gulf,  came  up  the  river  when  he 
knew  the  wild  honeysuckles  would  be  in  bloom;  but  the 
orchard  scents  caught  him,  and  he  forgot  the  pretty  wild  things 
in  the  glen,  and  hung  in  mid-air  above  the  lovely  buds,  in  the 
rapt  delight  of  a  new  joy.  All  the  twittering  little  feathered 
creatures,  that  care  for  man  and  seek  his  companionship,  came 
flocking  into  the  open  glades  that  edged  the  deeper  forests ;  for 
the  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground  was  losing  its  somber  shades,  and 
its  haunted  forest-aisles  were  no  longer  the  hiding-places  of  the 
death-dealing  red  men.  The  fiat  had  gone  forth ;  the  land-loving 
Saxon  and  his  affiliated  Celtic  brother  had  won,  and  would  hold, 
the  south  bank  of  "  The  White  Shining  River,"  which  the  tribes 


*  INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  145 

were  never  more  to  see.  In  their  visions  of  the  happy  hunting- 
grounds  there  would  be  a  reproduction  of  its  banks ;  or  at  least  a 
dream-given  likeness  in  those  far-away  shining  shores  of  peace. 

On  the  north  bank  the  contest  was  about  to  begin  on  a  larger 
scale.  War  was  to  be  war.  Squadrons  of  horsemen,  companies 
of  infantry,  troops  marching  with  banners,  were  now  about  to 
drive  the  Indians  to  that  uncertain  North-west  which  is  always 
changing  its  boundaries.  From  the  beginning  of  time,  as  time 
is  counted  by  struggles  and  battles,  the  Indians  were  always  on 
the  losing  side.  As  allies  of  the  French  they  were  conquered  by 
the  English ;  as  allies  of  the  English  they  fought  through  the 
Revolution,  and  for  years  after  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  kept 
the  war  spirit,  which  is  the  spirit  of  hell,  alive  upon  the  border. 
The  fire  of  hatred  between  the  borderer  and  the  Indian  wasunex- 
tinguishable.  At  every  breath  of  rumour  hostilities  broke  out 
afresh.  Foot  by  foot  the  Eastern  tribes  had  been  driven  to  the 
Alleghanies,  across  the  chain,  into  the  fertile  belts  and  magnificent 
forests  of  the  loveliest  of  lovely  river  valleys.  There  they  would 
have  rested,  and  for  that  they  joined  the  confederacy  of  the 
Miamis.  But  the  Saxon  followed  hard  and  fast.  Their  new  al- 
lies in  the  West  were  to  suffer  defeat  and  loss,  and  the  broad  free 
lands  of  all  the  nations,  watered  by  the  most  beautiful  of  the  tribu- 
taries of  the  River  which  was  their  pride  and  their  delight,  were 
to  be  the  spoil  of  the  conquerors. 

Ever>'  defeat  compelled  the  tribes  to  go  backward.  Every 
treaty  of  peace  was  an  enforced  sale  of  the  lands  upon  which 
they  collected  the  peltries  that  brought  them  comparatively 
nothing,  but  that  made  the  gains  of  the  white  trader. 

Their  removal  from  the  Ohio  had  now  come  to  be  a  question 
of  life  and  death  to  the  tribes  upon  the  Ohio;  for  year  by  year 


146  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

they  were  steadily  nearing  the  Mississippi,  and  near  by  the 
Mississippi  were  their  un-friends,  the  Illinois,  and  across  the 
Mississippi  their  deadly  enemies,  the  Sioux.  The  wisest  of 
their  chiefs,  their  prophets,  foretold  their  utter  destruction,  and 
the  warriors  understood  that  the  final  day  of  resivStance  had 
come.  The  tomahawk,  the  scalping-knife,  the  rifle,  and  their 
most  desperate  powers  of  endurance  and  resistance,  must  decide 
their  ownership  of  any  lands  east  of  the  Mississippi;  for  if  they 
made  friends  with  the  Illinois,  and  found  favor  with  the  haughty, 
imperious  Sioux,  who  could  assure  them  that  the  persistent 
**  Long  Knives"  would  not  cross  the  mighty  waters  ?  All  through 
the  century  they  had  been  fighting  the  same  foe — the  same  Vir- 
ginia and  Pennsylvania  pioneers — the  men  who  preferred  the 
hunting,  the  rude  sports,  and  the  desperate  frays  of  the  border 
to  the  ways  of  peace. 

Back  of  the  **  Long  Knives  "  a  different,  yet  a  no  less  per- 
sistent and  inimical  people,  were  following  in  their  wake.  The 
New  Knglander  had  heard  of  the  fertile  valleys  ;  of  the  land  flow- 
ing, if  not  **  with  milk  and  honey,"  with  the  traffic  that  breeds 
riches.  He  was  as  godly  a  sectarist  as  could  be  found  in  the 
fighting  Scotch-Irish  stock;  and  though  a  less  picturesque  figure 
than  the  sturdy  pioneer,  he  had  come  to  stay.  This  new-comer 
felt  it  to  be  part  of  the  eternal  fitness  of  things,  for  the  rough 
fellow  in  the  hunting-shirt  and  the  buckskin  breeches  to  go  on- 
ward, while  he  rested  upon  the  rich  lands  which  bordered  the 
broad-bosomed  river. 

The  I  St  of  March,  1784,  Virginia  ceded  her  North-west  Ter- 
ritory to  the  United  States,  to  be  laid  out  and  formed  into 
States,  **  having  the  same  rights  of  sovereignty,  freedom,  and  in- 
dependence as  the    other   States."     Among  other   conditions. 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  147 

"they  were  to  be  Free  States,"  and  all  "French  Canadians, 
and  other  settlers,"  were  to  "hold  their  possessions  in  peace." 
The  Virginia  Ohio  Company  had  builded  forts,  and  assisted 
with  material  aid  the  men  who  fought  the  Indians  and  the  English 
through  the  dark  days  of  the  Colonies  and  the  sufferings  of  the 
Revolution ;  fought  every  step  of  the  road  of  conquest,  from 
the  topmost  ridge  of  the  Alleghanies  to  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio, 
until  the  fight  for  the  river  was  won.  The  next  work  to  be 
done — work  in  which  all  must  assist,  for  the  newly  arrived  settler 
on  the  north  bank  must  be  protected — was  the  pacification  or  the 
extermination  of  the  Miamis  and  their  new  allies. 

Pontiac  was  dead.  Little  Turtle  was  as  yet  an  unknown 
quantity  among  the  chiefs.  The  government  was  about  to 
build  defensive  works,  to  be  commanded  and  held  by  regulars, 
and  a  fair  contingent  of  armed  troops  were  to  be  assembled 
within  striking  distance  of  the  malcontents,  who  "  were  sulking 
in  their  villages."  This  was  the  situation  in  the  last  decade  of 
the  eighteenth  century. 

The  gallant  but  unfortunate,  or  incapable  (a  question  never 
settled  conclusively)  St.  Clair,  had  been  appointed  by  Washing- 
ton Governor  of  the  North-west  Territory.  His  head- 
quarters were  at  Marietta,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum — * 
one  of  the  several  towns  founded  the  same  year  in  which  Lo- 
santiville  (Cincinnati)  was  laid  out.  The  following  extracts, 
collected  and  condensed  from  the  "  St.  Clair  Papers,"  are  prob- 
ably fairer  in  expression  than  the  almost  universal  condem- 
nation of  his  contemporaries,  and  for  that  reason  will  best  tell 
the  story  of  the  defeat,  which  ended  in  a  disgraceful  rout : 

"  Receiving  from  Major  Hamtramck  the  information  that  Antoine 
Gameliu  had  failed  to  persuade  the  Wabash  Indians  to  enter  into  a  treaty 


148  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO, 

Governor  St.  Clair  hastened  to  complete  the  work  of  organization. 
Before  his  departure  for  Philadelphia,  he  wrote  to  Major  Hamtramck,  ad- 
vising him  of  his  purpose  to  prepare  for  a  military  movement  against  the 
Indians  on  the  Wabash,  and  that  Colonel  Sargent  would  proceed  to  Post 
Vincennes,  to  make  the  civil  appointments  and  organize  the  militia.  The 
report  of  Mr.  Ganielin  is  of  extraordinary  interest.  It  shows  that  the 
machinations  of  Brant  and  his  British  friends  had  been  successful,  that 
the  Indians  proposed  to  fight,  and  expected  to  force  the  Americans  back 
across  the  Ohio. 

'  "  General  St.  Clair,  after  conferring  with  General  Harmar,  determined 
to  send  an  expedition  against  the  Mauniee  towns,  under  the  command  of 
that  officer.  A  circular  letter  was  issued  to  the  county  lieutenants  of  Ken- 
tucky and  Western  Pennsylvania,  informing  them  that  there  was  no  pros- 
pect of  a  peace  with  the  tribes  on  the  Wabash,  and  instructing  them  to 
call  out  the  militia  allotted  to  their  respective  counties,  to  meet  at  Fort 
Washington  by  the  15th  of  September. 

"When  the  militia  did  arrive,  General  Harmar  was  much  disheartened, 
as  they  were  *  raw,  and  unused  to  the  gun  or  woods.'  In  addition,  a  large 
portion  of  the  arms  were  unfit  for  use,  many  of  the  muskets  and  rifles 
being  without  locks.  The  militia  officers  quarreled,  and  the  men  were 
insubordinate.  Colonel  Hardin  was  the  senior  officer,  yet  some  of  the  men 
declared  they  would  return  home  unless  another  officer  could  lead  them, 
and  a  compromise  became  necessary. 

"  When  on  the  march,  October  2d,  the  force  was  reviewed,  it  was 
found  to  consist  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  regulars,  under  the  im- 
mediate command  of  Majors  Wyllys  and  Doughty,  and  one  thousand  one 
hundred  and  thirty-three  militia,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Hardin, 
an  old  Continental  officer.  The  route  was  by  old  Chillicothe,  at  the  head- 
waters of  the  LittleMiami ;  thence  to  Mad  River,  and  thence  to  the  Miami, 
which  they  struck  near  the  ruins  of  the  old  trading-post. 

"Here  they  captured  a  Shawanese  Indian,  who  informed  them  that 
the  Indians  were  leaving  their  village  (distant  about  thirty  miles),  as  fast 
as  possible.  Colonel  Hardin  was  detached  with  six  hundred  light  troops 
and  one  company  of  regulars.  He  was  instructed  to  push  for  the  Miami 
village,  which  was  at  the  junction  of  the  St.  Joseph  and  St.  Mary  Rivers, 
and  take  every  precaution  to  keep  his  men  under  strict  discipline.  When 
he  reached  the  village,  on  the  15th,  he  found  it  deserted.     On  the  17th  he 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  149 

was  joined  by  the  main  body,  and  the  order  was  given  for  the  destruction 
of  the  buildings,  and  the  vast  fields  of  corn  stretching  along  the  bottoms 
of  the  streams. 

"  On  the  following  day  Colonel  Trotter  was  ordered  out  with  three 
hundred  militia  and  thirty  regulars,  under  Captain  Armstrong,  with  in- 
structions to  see  if  he  could  find  traces  of  the  Indians.  He  returned  at 
night  without  having  accomplished  any  thing.  The  next  day  Colonel 
Hardin  went  out  with  the  same  command.  Before  he  had  proceeded 
very  far  many  of  the  militia  deserted.  When  distant  from  camp  ten 
miles,  he  suddenly  came  upon  about  one  hundred  Indians,  and  was  en- 
tirely defeated.  At  the  moment  of  attack  by  the  Indians,  the  remainder 
of  the  militia  fled,  without  firing  a  shot.  The  regulars  stood  firm,  and 
suffered  severely. 

"On  the  2ist,  the  army — having  burned  the  chief  town  and  five  of  the 
Indian  villages,  and  destroyed  twenty  thousand  bushels  of  corn  in  the  ear, 
the  object  of  the  expedition — took  up  their  line  of  march  back  to  Fort  Wash- 
ington, and  encamped  eight  miles  from  the  ruins.  At  nine  o'clock,  at  the 
solicitation  of  Colonel  Hardin,  General  Harniar  ordered  out  four  hundred 
men,  including  sixty  regulars,  under  Major  Wyllys,  with  instructions  to  go 
back  to  the  Indian  town  on  the  head-waters  of  the  Miami,  to  surprise  any 
parties  that  might  have  returned  there.  The  militia  came  upon  a  few  In- 
dians immediately  after  crossing  the  river,  put  them  to  flight,  and,  con- 
trary to  orders,  the  pursuit  was  continued  up  the  St.  Joseph  for  several 
miles.  The  center,  composed  of  the  regular  troops,  was  soon  afterwards 
attacked  by  the  main  body  of  the  Indians,  under  Little  Turtle,  and  al- 
though they  fought  with  desperation,  were  obliged  to  give  way.  The  few 
survivors  fled  in  the  direction  taken  by  the  militia,  and  met  them  returning 
from  the  pursuit  of  the  scattering  Indians.  They  were  followed  by  the 
Indians,  who  attempted  to  pass  the  stream,  but  were  repulsed.  The  troops, 
after  collecting  the  wounded,  returned  to  camp.  The  regulars  lost  two 
officers.  Major  Wyllys  and  Lieutenant  Frothingham. 

"  The  result  of  St.  Clair's  visit  to  Philadelphia,  and  his  report  on  aff'airg 
in  the  territory,  was :  First,  to  send  a  formidable  military  force  into  the 
Miami  country  to  erect  a  series  of  forts,  as  recommended  by  him  the  pre- 
ceding year;  and  secondly,  to  send  minor  expeditions  against  the  Wabash 
tribes  to  punish  them  for  their  marauding  in  the  spring  of  1790.  A  new 
regiment  was  to  be  added  to  the  military  force,  and  General  St.  Clair  was 


I50  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO.  I 

to  conduct  the  expedition  against  the  Miami  towns  in  person,  with  General 
Richard  Butler  second  in  command.  The  equipment  was  to  be  complete 
in  all  respects,  and  the  most  cordial  co-operation  was  promised  by  the  War 
Department. 

"  The  following  entry  is  found  in  Major  Denny's  journal,  under  the  date 
of  September  ist :  *  General  St.  Clair  appears  exceeding  impatient  at  the  de- 
lay or  detention  of  some  of  the  corps.' 

"  It  was  the  7th  of  September  before  General  Butler  and  Quarter- 
master-General Hodgden  arrived  at  Fort  Washington.  St.  Clair  had  al- 
ready moved  forward  his  two  thousand  men — not  three  thousand  effectives, 
as  promised  by  the  Secretary  of  War — about  twenty-four  miles.  Forts 
Hamilton  and  Jefferson  were  constructed  under  the  greatest  difficulties,  as 
the  rainy  season  had  set  in. 

"  The  24th  of  October  the  little  army  left  Fort  Jefferson,  and  moved 
through  the  wilderness  towards  the  Maumee,  where  another  fort  was  to  be 
erected.  The  frost  had  cut  off  the  forage,  the  men  were  on  half  rations, 
and  the  militia  deserted  in  such  numbers  that  the  general  found  it  neces- 
sary to  dispatch  Major  Hamtramck  with  the  First  Regiment,  three  hundred 
strong,  to  arrest  them  and  bring  up  the  provisions  that  were  supposed  to 
be  en  route. 

"  Every  precaution  was  taken  on  the  march  and  in  camp  to  guard 
against  a  surprise.  On  the  3d  of  November,  1791,  the  troops  encamped  on 
high  ground  on  a  small  creek,  supposed  to  be  a  branch  of  the  Maumee, 
but  which  was,  in  fact,  a  branch  of  the  Wabash.  The  high  ground  was 
barely  sufficient  for  the  regulars  in  rather  contracted  lines.  The  militia, 
under  Colonel  Oldham,  passed  beyond  the  creek  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and 
encamped  in  parallel  lines.  Before  midnight  General  Butler  dispatched 
Captain  Slough,  with  thirty-two  men,  to  reconnoiter  in  front  of  the  lines. 
He  saw  enough  Indians  to  confirm  the  opinion  that  the  troops  would  be 
attacked  in  the  n'  orning.  He  immediately  returned  to  camp  and  commu- 
nicated to  General  Butler  what  he  had  learned,  arid  added  that,  if  thought 
proper,  he  would  make  the  report  to  General  St.  Clair.  General  Butler  re- 
mained silent  for  some  time,  and  then  remarked  that  he  '  must  feel  fatigued, 
and  he  had  better  go  and  lie  down.'     Captain  Slough  obeyed. 

"  General  Butler  neither  comnmnicated  to  General  St.  Clair  the  infor- 
mation, nor  took  any  further  precaution  against  the  enemy.     On  the  morn- 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  151 

log  of  the  4th,  a  half  hour  before  sunrise,  an  attack  was  made  on  the 
militia.  The  militia  fled  pell-mell  through  the  first  line  of  regulars,  who 
were  attempting  to  form.  However,  the  enemy  was  well  received  by  the 
front  line ;  but  almost  instantly  the  entire  camp  seemed  to  be  surrounded 
by  an  unseen  foe. 

"  The  men  were  pressed  toward  the  center,  and  fell  by  scores  under 
the  unerring  aim  of  the  savages,  who  fired  from  the  woody  covert  sur- 
rounding them. 

"  General  St  Clair,  who  had  left  his  sick  quarters  upon  the  first  fire, 
repeatedly  directed  the  men  to  charge  against  the  skulking  foe,  who  fled 
before  the  bayonet,  and  then  returned  to  the  attack. 

'*  The  uniforms  of  the  officers  attracted  the  aim  of  the  savages,  and 
they  fell  on  every  hand.  Among  those  wounded  early  in  the  engagement 
was  General  Butler,  but  he  continued  to  urge  resistance.  When,  at  last, 
all  of  the  artillery  officers  had  been  either  killed  or  wounded,  and  the  fire 
of  the  Indians  was  so  near  and  deadly  as  to  threaten  the  annihilation  of 
the  force,  preparation  was  made  for  a  retreat. 

"A  last  charge  was  made  against  the  enemy,  and  a  retreat  accom- 
plished. *  At  the  moment  of  the  retreat,'  says  Major  Denny,  *  one  of  the  few 
horses  saved  had  been  procured  for  the  general ;  he  was  on  foot  until  then  ; 
I  kept  by  him,  and  he  delayed  to  see  the  rear  come  up.'  The  general  then 
commanded  Major  Denny  to  '  push  to  the  front  and  rally  a  force  sufficient 
to  check  the  panic'  Then  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  care  of  those  who 
were  partially  disabled  by  wounds.  As  he  and  the  oflScer  in  command  of 
the  rear-guard  moved  over  the  route,  evidence  was  seen  on  every  hand  that 
the  retreat  had  been  a  disgraceful  flight,  even  to  the  very  gates  of  Fort 
Jefferson,  where,  at  last,  under  the  assuring  presence  of  Major  Hamtramck's 
regulars,  terror  gave  place  to  confidence. 

"The  killed  and  missing  officers  numbered  thirty-seven,  and  the 
privates  five  hundred  and  ninety-three ;  the  wounded,  thirty-one  officers, 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty-two  privates.  Not  an  officer  exposed  himself 
as  much  as  the  general,  and  yet  it  was  always  with  a  calm  courage,  seek- 
ing to  reach  the  enemy  eff"ectively.  *  I  have  nothing  to  lay  to  the  charge 
of  the  troops,'  said  he  in  his  oflScial  report,  *  but  their  want  of  discipline, 
which  from  the  short  time  they  had  been  in  service,  it  was  impossible  they 
should  have  acquired,  and  which  rendered  it  very  difficult,  when  they 


152  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

were  thrown  into  confusion,  to  reduce  them  again  to  order,  and  this  is 
one  reason  why  the  loss  has  fallen  so  heavy  on  the  officers,  who  did  every 
thing  in  their  power  to  re-form  the  troops.' 

"  It  seems  surprising,  in  reviewing  the  evidence  of  so  many  witnesses, 
that  the  commanding  general,  who  was  believed  to  be  competent,  whose 
courage  had  been  often  proved,  who  knew  the  superiority  of  the  Indian 
forces — warriors  trained  to  war  from  infancy — should  think  of  hazarding, 
with  such  disorderly  troops,  and  under  such  circumstances,  his  reputation 
and  life,  and  the  lives  of  others. 

"  St.  Clair  asked  to  have  an  inquiry  made  by  military  officers,  but  that 
being  impracticable,  the  matter  came  before  Congress,  and  was  there 
thoroughly  examined. 

"  After  his  return  to  Fort  Washington,  on  the  9th  of  November,  St. 
Clair  wrote  his  official  dispatch  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  which  contained 
a  comprehensive  account  of  the  disastrous  campaign.  There  is  no  fault- 
finding, no  allusion  to  the  shameful  mismanagement  in  the  War  Depart- 
ment, and  nothing  as  to  the  neglect  of  Colonel  Oldham  and  General  Butler 
to  advise  him  of  the  presence  of  the  enemy  on  the  night  of  the  3d  of 
November.  Major  Denny  was  charged  with  its  prompt  delivery,  and  ar- 
riving in  Philadelphia  at  a  late  hour  on  the  19th,  he  waited  immediately 
upon  the  Secretary  of  War  and  delivered  the  dispatches. 

"  The  President  declared  that  General  St.  Clair  should  have  justice. 

"  *  More  satisfactory  testimony  in  favor  of  St.  Clair  is  furnished  by  the 
circumstance  that  he  still  retained  the  undiminished  esteem  and  good 
opinion  of  Washington.'  This  we  read  in  the  work  of  Chief-Justice 
Marshall.  St.  Clair  resigned  his  conmission  in  the  army,  and  General 
Anthony  Wayne  was  appointed  to  succeed  him  in  April,  1792. 

"The  whole  country  had  been  thrown  into  consternation  and  mourn- 
ing by  the  news  of  the  defeat  of  St.  Clair.  A  succession  of  disasters  to 
the  American  arms  had  rendered  the  Indian  war,  to  the  last  degree,  unpop- 
ular ;  and  no  little  of  the  odium  attached  itself  to  the  Administration  under 
whose  auspices  it  had  been  conducted.  Parties  had  already  developed 
themselves  in  Congress  and  the  nation,  and  the  conduct  of  the  Indian 
war  furnished  abundant  ground  for  the  ill-disposed  to  raise  charges 
against,  and  excite  distrust  of,  the  wisdom  of  the  Administration. 

"Thus  situated,  to  sustain  the  honor  of  the  government,  to  vindicate 
the  superiority  of  the  American  arms,  to  arrest  the  clamor  of  party,  to 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS,  153 

give  protection  to  the  frontier  settlements,  and,  if  possible,  to  restore  a 
safe  and  lasting  peace  with  the  Indian  Nations,  new  measures  were  to  be 
adopted, 

"  The  highest  exercise  of  the  wisdom  of  Washington,  in  the  selection 
of  a  commander-in-chief  for  the  army,  was  demanded  ;  for  on  this  selection, 
more  than  on  any  which  had  been  made  since  the  commencement  of  the 
Revolutionary  War,  every  thing  dear  to  the  country  depended.  Having 
acted  with  Wayne  in  the  most  trying  scenes  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
the  President  had  a  thorough  knowledge  of  his  fitness  for  the  important 
command. 

"On  the  25th  of  May,  1792,  Wayne  having  been  furnished,  by  the  Sec- 
retary of  War,  with  the  instructions  of  the  President,  in  which  it  was 
emphatically  expressed  'that  another  defeat  would  be  inexpressibly  ruin- 
ous to  the  reputation  of  the  government,'  immediately  took  leave  of  his 
family  and  friends,  and  repaired  to  Pittsburgh,  the  place  appointed  for  the 
rendezvous  of  the  troops,  where  he  arrived  early  in  June. 

"  General  Wayne  did  not  permit  the  summer  to  pass  without  adopting 
proper  measures  to- ascertain  the  strength  and  disposition  of  the  hostile 
Indians.  Efforts  were  made  to  impress  on  their  minds  the  earnest  desire 
of  the  American  government  to  make  peace  on  terms  that  should  be  mu- 
tually just  and  honorable,  and  yet  to  leave  no  doubt  that,  if  war  was  pre- 
ferred by  them,  they  would  contend  with  a  different  force  from  that  which 
they  had  previously  encountered.  Colonel  Harding  and  Major  Trueman 
were  sent  with  flags  of  truce  to  the  Indians,  but  they  were  both  wantonly 
murdered. 

"  In  the  meantime  the  Indians  continued  their  raids  upon  the  frontier, 
except  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  posts  occupied  by  detachments 
of  troops,  and  many  valuable  lives  were  lost. 

"Suitable  winter  quarters  having  been  selected  by  Wayne,  the  army 
left  Pittsburgh  on  the  28th  of  November,  and  took  up  a  position  on  the 
Ohio,  twenty-two  miles  below  that  place,  and  seven  above  the  mouth  of 
the  Big  Beaver,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Legionville.  Here  the 
troops  were  hutted,  the  camp  was  fortified,  and  every  possible  preparation 
for  defense  adopted. 

"Anxious  to  conciliate  the  Six  Nations  of  Indians,  Wayne  sent  an  invi- 
tation to  two  distinguished  chiefs,  Cornplanter  and  New  Arrow,  to  visit 
him  at  Legionville,  at  which  place  they  arrived  in  March,  1793.     A  toast  was 


154  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

given  by  Cornplanter,  at  the  general's  table,  which  will  show  the  terms  on 
which  they  wished  peace.  '  My  mind  and  heart  are  upon  That  river,' 
said  Cornplanter,  pointing  to  the  Ohio ;  '  may  That  water  ever  con- 
tinue TO  RUN  AND  REMAIN  THE  BOUNDARY  OF  I^ASTING  PEACE  BETWEEN 

THE  Americans  and  Indians  on  its  opposite  shores!'  Such  was  the 
boundary-line  fixed  upon  by  friendly  Indians. 

"  The  winter  was  not  productive  of  any  striking  events ;  but  early  in 
April  Wayne  announced  his  readiness  to  descend  the  river,  having  a  re- 
spectable body  of  well-disciplined  troops,  in  whom  he  expressed  perfect 
confidence,  and  the  30th  of  April,  1793,  he  left  the  camp  at  Legionville. 
The  immediate  destination  of  the  troops  was  Fort  Washington,  then  near 
the  village,  now  the  city,  of  Cincinnati.  In  six  days  the  army  arrived  at  the 
fort ;  but  Wayne  preferred  a  position  a  mile  below,  and  named  the  new 
camp  '  Hobson's  Choice.'  There  the  troops  were  disciplined,  and  arrange- 
ments were  adopted  for  bringing  into  service  an  auxiliary  aid  of  mounted 
volunteers  from  Kentucky. 

"  Intimations  having  been  given  by  the  Indians  of  a  disposition  to 
treat,  a  commission  was  appointed  to  meet  them.  As  had  been  foreseen  by 
Wayne,  the  negotiation  failed.  The  Indians  haughtily  and  peremptorily 
insisting  'that  the  Ohio  be  ESTabi^ished  as  The  boundary,  on 
which  terms  ai^one  they  woui^d  condescend  to  grant  peace  to 
THE  United  States.'    But  one  course  was  left. 

"  General  Wayne  now  took  the  most  prompt  measures  to  advance  into 
the  Indian  country.  On  the  7th  of  October  the  army  marched  from  *  Hob- 
son's  Choice,'  and  on  the  13th  took  up  a  position  six  miles  in  advance  of 
Fort  Jefferson,  on  the  south-west  branch  of  the  Miami.  Wayne  gave  it  the 
name  of  Greeneville,  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  his  Revolutionary  friend,  Major- 
General  Greene.  In  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  dated  from  this  camp, 
23d  October,  1793,  the  general  gives  an  account  of  an  attack  on  the  17th 
upon  one  of  his  convoys  of  provisions,  under  Lieutenant  Lowrey  and 
Ensign  Boyd,  consisting  of  ninety  men.  These  two  officers  bravely  fell 
after  an  obstinate  resistance  against  superior  numbers. 

*'  In  the  meantime,  General  Scott,  with  a  party  of  mounted  men,  ar- 
rived ;  but  the  season  was  too  far  advanced,  and  the  force  assembled  was 
inadequate  for  decisive,  active,  operations,  and  they  were  permitted  to  re- 
turn home. 

"  On  December  23d   General  Wayne  dispatched  Major  Burbeck,  with 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  1 55 

ei^^ht  companies  of  foot  and  a  detachment  of  artillety,  with  orders  to  pos- 
sess themselves  of  the  field  of  St.  Clair's  defeat,  November  4,  1791,  and 
there  to  fortify.  To  this  post  was  given  the  name  of  Fort  Recovery.  For 
the  purpose  of  encouraging  the  troops  who  were  ordered  on  this  service, 
as  well  as  for  that  of  superintending  the  contemplated  works,  Wayne  per- 
sonally advanced  to  the  same  point,  with  a  small  re-enforcement  of  mounted 
infantry,  accompanied  by  the  officers  mentioned  in  the  following  extract 
from  general  orders :  *  The  commander-in-chief  returns  his  most  grateful 
thanks  to  Major  Henry  Burbeck,  and  to  every  officer  and  private  belonging 
to  the  detachment  under  his  command,  for  their  soldierly  and  exemplary 
good  conduct  during  their  late  arduous  tour  of  duty  in  repossessing  Gen- 
eral St.  Clair's  field  of  battle,  and  erecting  thereon  Fort  Recovery. 

*•  More  anxious  to  produce  delay,  and,  perhaps,  by  their  flags,  to  re- 
con  noiter  his  position  with  safety  than  sincerely  desirous  of  peace,  the 
Indians,  immediately  after  the  erection  of  Fort  Recovery,  sent  a  pacific 
message  to  Wayne,  and  proposed  that  negotiations  for  a  treaty  should 
be  opened,  'for  the  adjustment  of  all  difficulties  that  existed.'  Wayne, 
although  he  had  no  faith  in  their  honesty  of  purpose,  but  regarded 
the  proposal  as  a  stratagem  to  further  their  hostile  designs,  did  not  feel 
himself  warranted  to  decline  the  overture.  He  met  their  advance  with  a 
declaration  of  satisfaction ;  professed  his  entire  readiness  to  make  peace 
on  terms  that  should  be  just ;  and  only  required,  on  their  part,  the  release 
of  the  captives  in  their  possession,  as  a  proof  of  their  sincerity.  The  flag 
departed,  being  allowed  thirty  days  to  return  with  the  final  answer  of 
their  chiefs. 

"Upon  the  approach  of  spring,  affairs  assumed  an  aspect  in  the  high- 
est degree  interesting,  and  called  for  the  full  exercise  of  the  vigilance  and 
wisdom  of  the  commander  of  the  army.  Prompt  measures  were  taken  to 
garrison  Fort  Massac,  thirty-eight  miles  jibove  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio. 
The  spoliations  upon  American  commerce,  and  the  hostile  spirit  of  Great 
Britain,  gave  strong  reasons  to  fear  a  war  with  that  nation.  Thus  sur- 
rounded with  difficulties  and  dangers,  placed  in  circumstances  which  were 
as  delicate  as  they  were  new  and  embarrassing,  Wayne  rose  in  proportion 
to  the  pressure,  and  showed  that  his  abilities  were  equal  to  the  emergency. 

"  In  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  Wayne  was  authorized,  should 
he  deem  it  proper,  to  take  the  British  fort  on  the  rapids  of  the  Miami.  To 
the  discretion  of  Wayne  was  therefore  confided,  not  only  the  sole  conduct 


156  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

of  the  Indian  war,  but  the  authority  to  take  a  step  which  must  certain!;^ 
ijave  involved  the  nation  in  war  with  Great  Britain.  The  time  for  active 
operations  having  come,  and  the  Indians  having  failed  to  enter  into 
negotiations  for  peace,  Wayne  called  upon  the  governor  of  Kentucky  for 
two  thousand  mounted  volunteers. 

"On  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  June  an  escort  of  ninety  riflemen  and 
fifty  dragoons  was  attacked  by  a  numerous  body  of  Indians,  under  the 
walls  of  Fort  Recovery,  followed  by  a  general  assault  upon  that  fort.  The 
enemy,  driven  back  by  a  deadly  fire,  renewed  the  attack  with  great  spirit, 
but  were  finally  repulsed  with  heavy  loss.  Circumstances,  amounting 
nearly  to  positive  proof,  showed  that  the  Indians  were  aided  by  a  consider- 
able auxiliary  British  force.  Thus,  on  the  very  ground  which  was  the 
scene  of  their  proudest  victory,  the  Indians  were  taught  to  respect  the 
strength  of  American  arms. 

"It  was  past  the  middle  of  July  "before  the  mounted  volunteers  from 
Kentucky,  under  Major-General  Scott,  arrived  at  Greeneville.  Every  prep- 
aration which  prudence  could  devise  having  been  completed,  Wayne 
moved  with  his  main  force,  and  but  for  the  treachery  and  desertion  of  a 
soldier,  the  enemy  would  have  suffered  a  complete  surprise,  when  the 
troops  arrived  at  Grand  Glaize,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Indian  settlements. 

"  Wayne  entered  the  part  of  their  settlement  lying  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  garrison  of  a  British  fort,  a  bold  step,  but  prudent.  '  Thus,'  says 
Wayne  in  a  letter  to  General  Knorx,  *  we  have  gained  possession  of  the 
grand  emporium  of  the  hostile  Indians  in  the  West  without  loss  of  blood.' 

"  He  immediately  erected  a  strong  fortification  at  the  confluence  of 
the  Auglaize  and  the  Maumee,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  '  Fort  Defiance.' 
Though  now  prepared  to  strike  the  blow,  the  commander  of  the  army, 
generous  as  brave,  made  one  last  effort  to  restore  tranquillity  without  the 
further  effusion  of  blood. 

"  Stimulated  by  their  British  allies,  however,  the  Indians  resolved  to 
abide  the  issue  of  an  engagement,  and  rejected  the  proposed  offer. 

"That  engagement  almost  immediately  followed,  and  a  letter  from 
Wayne  to  the  Secretary  of  War  described  the  engagement.  From  that 
letter  the  following  extracts  are  taken  : 

"'It  is  with  infinite  pleasure  that  I  now  announce  to  you  the  brilliant 
success  of  the  Federal  army  under  my  command.     ... 

"'The  enemy  advanced   from  this  place  on  the   15th,  and  arrived  at 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  157 

Roche  de  Bout  on  the  i8th ;  the  19th  we  were  employed  in  making  a  tem- 
porary post  for  the  reception  of  our  stores  and  baggage,  and  in  recon- 
noitering  the  position  of  the  enemy,  who  were  encamped  behind  a  thick, 
bushy  wood  and  the  British  fort. 

"'At  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  20th  the  army  again  advanced 
in  columns,  agreeably  to  the  standing  order  of  march.  After  advancing 
about  five  miles,  Major  Price's  corps  received  so  severe  a  fire  from  the 
ei:  2my,  who  were  secreted  in  the  woods  and  high  grass,  as  to  compel  them 
to  retreat. 

" '  The  legion  was  immediately  formed  in  two  lines,  principally  in  a  close, 
thick  wood,  which  extended  for  miles  on  our  left.     .     .     . 

" '  I  soon  discovered,  from  the  weight  of  the  fire  and  extent  of  their 
lines,  that  the  enemy  were  in  full  force  in  front,  in  possession  of  their  fa- 
vorite ground,  and  endeavoring  to  turn  our  left  flank.  I  therefore  gave 
orders  for  the  second  line  to  advance  to  support  the  first,  and  directed 
Major-General  Scott  to  gain  and  turn  the  right  flank  of  the  savages, 
with  the  whole  of  the  mounted  volunteers,  by  a  circuitous  route ;  at  the 
same  time  I  ordered  the  front  line  to  advance  with  trailed  arms  and 
rouse  the  Indians  from  their  coverts  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and,  when 
up,  to  deliver  a  close  and  well-directed  fire  on  their  backs,  followed  by  a 
brisk  charge,  so  as  not  to  give  time  to  load  again. 

"  'All  those  orders  were  obeyed  with  spirit  and  promptitude ;  but  such 
was  che  impetuosity  of  the  charge  by  the  first  line  of  infantry,  that  the  In- 
dians and  Canadian  militia  and  volunteers  were  driven  from  all  their  coverts 
in  so  short  a  time  that,  although  every  exertion  was  used  by  the  officers  of 
the  second  legion,  and  by  some  of  the  mounted  volunteers,  to  gain  their 
proper  positions,  yet  but  a  part  of  each  could  get  up  in  season  to  partici- 
pate in  the  action ;  the  enemy  being  driven,  in  the  course  of  one  hour,  more 
than  two  miles,  through  the  thick  woods  already  mentioned,  by  less  than 
one-half  their  numbers. 

'* '  The  enemy  amounted  to  two  thousand  combatants ;  the  troops  act- 
ually engaged  against  them  were  short  of  nine  hundred.  This  horde  of 
savages,  with  their  allies,  abandoned  themselves  to  flight,  and  dispersed 
with  terror  and  dismay,  leaving  our  victorious  army  in  full  and  quiet  pos- 
session of  the  field  of  battle,  which  terminated  within  range  of  the  guns 
of  the  British  garrison.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  more  than  double  that 
ol  the  Federal  army. 


15^  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

"  *  We  remained  three  days  and  nights  on  the  banks  of  the  Maumee,  in 
front  of  the  field  of  battle,  during  which  time  all  the  houses  and  corn-fields 
were  consumed  and  destroyed  for  a  considerable  distance. 

"  *  The  army  returned  to  this  place  on  the  27th,  laying  waste  the  villages 
and  corn-fields  for  fifty  miles  on  each  side  of  the  Maumee.     .     .     . 

" '  Anthony  Wayne. 
"-'Dated,  Grand  Glaize,  28th  August,  1794.^ 

"In  this  decisive  action  the  whole  of  Wayne's  army  in  killed  and 
wounded  amounted  only  to  one  hundred  and  seven  men.  The  loss  of  the 
enemy  was  more  than  double  the  number.  The  victory  of  the  20th  of  Au- 
gust, so  glorious  to  the  American  arms,  and  the  subsequent  movement  of 
the  army,  produced  the  most  decisive  effects.  The  lofty  spirit  of  the  In- 
dians was  broken,  and  the  chiefs  and  warriors  came  forward  and  sued 
for  peace." 

Among  the  young  soldiers  who  fought  through  their  first 
campaign  with  "Mad  Anthony"  was  a  Virginian  boy  of  twenty, 
whose  gallantry  won  for  him  a  place  among  the  epauletted  aides, 
and  honorable  mention  in  the  order  issued  after  the  first  battle. 
His  people  were  "Colonial  Virginians,"  his  father  had  put  his 
life  in  jeopardy  by  signing  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
The  boy  was  well  born  and  well  bred ;  but  he  carried  the  lightly 
filled  purse  which,  of  necessity,  had  to  supply  the  wants  of  a 
younger  son  of  a  not  over-rich  country  gentleman,  whose  estate 
had  been  taxed  to  provide  for  his  servants  and  his  family, 
while  he  faithfully  filled  the  position  of  a  delegate  from  Virginia 
in  the  Continental  Congress. 

In  the  olden-time  generosity  and  hospitality  were  heavy  task- 
masters ;  and,  when  Benjamin  Harrison  of  Berkeley  died,  all  that 
could  be  done  for  his  third  son  was  to  send  him  to  his  guardian 
in  Philadelphia — Robert  Morris,  of  Revolutionary  memory — who 
placed  him  as  a  student  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush. 
The  excitement  on  the  frontier  was  so  great  that  its  echo  dis- 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  159 

turbed  the  calm  repose  of  Philadelphia.  The  pulses  of  the 
placid  "  Friends"  beat  a  trifle  faster  at  the  coming  in  of  the  daily- 
stage  which  brought  ominous  news  from  the  new  settlements 
and  the  little  army  posts  on  the  border. 

The  medical  student's  position  was  a  thing  of  duty,  not 
of  choice;  and  now,  from  the  stand-point  of  a  bom  fighter, 
he  began  to  see  that  it  was  altogether  a  more  attractive  ca- 
reer— and  one  that  could  placate  duty .  with  the  plea  of  a 
greater  need — to  make  wounds  than  to  heal  them.  He  reasoned 
with  his  guardian,  with  that  impetuosity  of  youth  which  wins 
reason  with  the  reasonableness  of  the  thing  it  desires ;  and,  be- 
sides, he  pleaded  the  case  with  another  old  friend  of  his  father's, 
who,  caring  for  the  service  as  well  as  for  the  boy,  and  having  the 
power  to  serve  his  friend's  son  by  serving  the  service,  gave  him 
an  ensign's  commission  and  sent  him  to  Fort  Washington  to 
heat  or  cool  his  blood,  according  to  the  quality  of  his  metal,  with 
the  sight  of  a  routed  army  broken  into  fragments  by  a  massacre 
unparalleled  in  the  lesser  horrors  of  all  previous  loss.  Through 
sleet  and  snow  the  ensign's  first  march  was  back  to  the  battle- 
ground of  the  dead,  to  bury  the  remains  of  the  stricken — to 
gather  the  bloody  harvest  that  cumbered  the  field  of  St. 
Clair's  defeat. 

In  1792  General  Wayne  was  appointed  to  command  the 
United  States  Legion,  and  young  Harrison  was  promoted  to  a 
lieutenancy  under  that  gallant  soldier  and  rigid  disciplinarian; 
who  was  attracted  to  the  energetic,  prompt,  fearless,  yet  atten- 
tively obedient  young  subaltern.  In  a  general  order  after  the 
battle  of  the  23d  December,  General  Wayne  publicly  thanked 
Lieutenant  Harrison  for  his  gallantry  and  good  conduct.     Again, 

in  the  fight  with  "the  Little  Turtle,"  August  20,   1794,  when 

II 


i6o  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

Wayne  won  so  signal  a  victory,  Harrison  was  mentioned  and 
thariked  in  the  general  orders.  Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty 
with  the  Indians,  Harrison  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain, 
and  placed  in  command  at  Fort  Washington. 

At  the  death  of  General  Wayne,  in  1797,  Captain  Harrison 
left  the  army,  and  retired  to  his  farm  until  he  received  his  first 
civil  appointment,  that  of  secretary  of  the  North-western  Terri- 
tory, and,  .ex  officio,  lieutenant-governor.  His  conduct  in  the 
office  of  secretary,  and  his  sincerity  and  courteous  manners,  won 
him  the  confidence  and  good-will  of  all  with  whom  he  came  in 
contact;  and  when,  in  the  following  year,  the  North-western 
Territory  entered  .into  the  second  grade  of  government,  and  the 
people  were  about  to  elect  a  delegate  to  Congress,  he  was  the 
first  representative  chosen  to  fill  that  office.  In  the  year  1800 
the  North-western  Territory  was  divided.  The  part  included 
within  the  present  boundaries  of  Ohio  and  Michigan  retained  its 
new  name,  and  the  country  to  the  north-west  received  the  name 
of  Indiana,  the  governorship  of  which  was  conferred  by  Jeffer- 
son on  William  Henry  Harrison. 

The  powers  intrusted  to  Harrison  as  governor  of  Indiana, 
and  the  extent  of  the  territory  confided  to  his  jurisdiction, 
greater  than  had  ever  been  heretofore  committed  to  the  charge 
of  any  citizen  of  the  United  States,  except  General  Washington, 
burdened  him  with  an  immense  responsibility.  Indiana  had  then 
the  boundaries  of  an  empire,  and  to  its  governor  almost  unlim- 
ited power  had  been  given.  Ohio,  having  been  cut  out  of  the 
North-west  Territory — ceded  by  Virginia  to  the  United  States — 
with  definite  boundaries,  the  remainder  of  the  territory  beyond 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  fell  within  his  jurisdiction,  including 
the  wide  regions  that  now  compose  the  States  north-west  of  the 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  l6i 

Ohio  and  east  of  the  Mississippi;  and,  in  fact,  for  a  period  of 
nearly  two  years  the  whole  of  Louisiana,  which  was  attached  to 
Indiana  on  its  purchase  in  1803,  and  was  not  erected  into  a  sep- 
arate territory  until  July,  1805. 

The  intermediate  country  was  in  possession  of  the  Indians, 
and  was  visited  by  hunters,  who  were  almost  constantly  em- 
broiled with  the  savages.  The  tribes  were  restless  and  dissat- 
isfied. Between  the  distant  settlements  the  roads  were  the  paths 
beaten  by  the  Indians,  and  which  were  without  ferries  or  even 
the  rude  bridges  of  the  frontier.  The  seat  of  government  was  at 
Vinceunes,  a  village  beautifully  situated  on  the  Wabash,  which 
was  inhabited  chiefly  by  the  descendants  of  the  French,  who 
had  built  the  town  in  the  seventeenth  century;  and  who,  although 
attached  to  the  new  authority  recently  placed  over  them,  were 
entirely  unacquainted  with  our  language  and  laws,  and  much 
preferred  the  simple  institutions  under  which  they  had  hitherto 
lived.  Numerous  tribes  of  Indians  inhabited  the  vast  wilder- 
ness lying  beyond  these  settlements;  and  the  British  traders 
from  Canada  carried  on  with  them  a  constant  and  lucrative 
trafl&c,  to  keep  which,  and  to  prevent  the  competition  of  the 
enterprising  American  trader,  they  used  every  effort  to  preserve 
the  favor  of  the  Indians,  to  detach  them  from  the  Americans,  and 
to  prejudice  them  against  both  the  people  and  the  Govern- 
ment. Intrigues  were  rife,  for  the  date  preceded  the  second  war 
with  Great  Britain. 

In  1805  the  territory  of  Indiana  was  erected  into  the  second 
grade  of  government.  By  this  change  the  people  advanced  one 
step  towards  the  right  of  suffrage  and  self-government.  They 
elected  the  members  of  the  popular  branch  of  the  Legislature, 
and  the  latter  nominated  ten  persons,  from  which  number  Con- 


1 62  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

gress  chose  five,  who  constituted  the  Upper  House.  The  Assem- 
bly thus  organized  appointed  a  delegate  to  Congress,  who  repre- 
sented the  Territory  in  that  body,  and  was  intrusted  with  the 
management  of  the  business  of  the  Territory.  This  change  was 
urgently  pressed  by  General  Harrison,  although  it  deprived  him 
of  much  power  and  great  patronage. 

In  the  year  1806  the  celebrated  Indian,  01-li-wa-chi-ca,  the 
Prophet,  called  by  some  writers  Kls-kwa-taw-a,  and  his  dis- 
tinguished brother,  Tecumseh,  began  to  threaten  the  frontier 
of  Indiana  by  a  series  of  intrigues  which  produced  the  most 
unexpected  results.  Tecumseh  had  matured  a  plan  to  unite 
all  the  western  tribes  in  a  league  against  the  United  States, 
with  the  hope  and  expectation  that  the  combined  tribes  would 
be  strong  enough  to  capture  all  the  western  settlements,  and 
drive  the  settlers  out  of  the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi 
and  the  lands  north  of  the  Ohio.  The  daring  warrior  visited 
the  different  tribes,  and  appealed  earnestly  to  their  patriotism, 
recalling  the  recollection  of  their  wrongs,  using  in  this  effort 
the  subtle  diplomacy  with  which  he  was  so  consummately  gifted, 
and  the  terse,  strong  oratory  which,  in  its  effect  upon  the 
tribes,  reminds  the  reader  of  the  battle-kindling  eloquence  of 
Demosthenes. 

The  two  brothers,  born  at  the  same  birth,  differed  widely  in 
character,  but  were  admirably  fitted  to  act  in  concert  in  the 
confederation  of  the  Nations  now  divided  by  jealousies  and 
feuds.  Tecumseh  was  daring  and  sagacious,  a  persuasive  speaker, 
an  able  military  chief,  and  a  successful  diplomatist.  He  was  de- 
voted to  his  people,  and  equally  intense  in  his  hatred  of  the 
white  race,  against  whom  he  had  sworn  eternal  vengeance.  Pe- 
culiarly gifted  with  the  firmness  and  tact  which  distinguishes  all 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  163 

great  leaders,  full  of  enthusiasm,  he  appealed  successfully  both 
to  the  passions  and  convictions  of  the  Indians. 

The  prophet  had  few  of  the  manlier  qualities  of  Tecumseh. 
He  was  not  a  warrior,  as  the  Indian  understood  war,  and  was 
only  an  indifferent  hunter.  Haughty,  crafty,  and  cruel,  he  was 
also  indolent  and  selfish.  Yet  a  variety  of  accidental  circum- 
stances gave  him  an  ascendency  over  the  tribes  which  his  own 
ability  could  not  have  achieved. 

The  superior  mind  of  Tecumseh  had  obtained  a  complete 
mastery  over  that  of  the  prophet ;  and  in  council  the  latter 
rarely  spoke,  although  a  more  fluent  speaker  than  the  great 
warrior.  His  manner  is  said  to  have  been  exceedingly  graceful. 
Without  the  dignity  and  sagacity  of  Tecumseh,  he  advocated  a 
more  dangerous,  because  a  more  sinister,  policy.  Up  to  the 
year  181 1  Tecumseh  and  his  brother  were  engaged  in  constant 
intrigues  to  array  the  tribes  against  the  United  States.  They 
were  "  in  the  opposition  "  at  all  the  councils  that  were  held,  and 
earnestly  endeavored  to  prevent  every  treaty  that  was  made. 
Yet  they  carefully  avoided  an  outbreak  of  hostilities  before  a 
combination  could  be  effected.  In  1808,  while  his  brother  was 
in  Florida  proposing  an  alliance  with  the  Southern  Indians,  the 
prophet  established  his  principal  residence  on  the  Wabash,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Tippecanoe.  Here  all  the  young  warriors 
rallied  around  him,  and  the  allies  assumed  a  bolder  and  more 
threatening  attitude.  They  sallied  forth  in  greater  or  smaller 
parties,  and  under  the  pretense  of  hunting  and  visiting  the 
neighboring  tribes  they  were  committing  depredations  upon, 
and  threatening  the  settlers  along  the  entire  frontier. 

Vincennes,  the  seat  of  government,  was  constantly  exposed 
to  attack ;  but  the  prophet,  while  he  appealed  to  their  traditions 


1 64  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO, 

and  played  upon  the  superstition  of  his  followers,  was  too 
indolent  and  too  timid  to  enter  vigorously  into  any  aggressive 
action.  His  maladministration  soon  reduced  the  number  of  his 
adherents  to  less  than  three  hundred;  and  these  were  so  impov- 
erished by  their  long  idleness  and  their  excesses,  that  they  would 
have  starv^ed  had  not  Governor  Harrison  given  them  a  supply 
of  provisions.    The  return  of  Tecumseh  restored  order. 

In  1809  Governor  Harrison  purchased  from  the  Delawares, 
Miamis,  and  Pottawattamies  a  large  tract  of  country  on  both 
sides  of  the  Wabash,  and  extending  up  that  river  about  sixty 
miles  above  Vincennes.  Tecumseh  was  away  upon  one  of  his  long 
embassies  when  this  sale  was  made.  His  brother,  not  thinking 
•himself  interested,  made  no  opposition  to  the  treaty ;  but  on  his 
return  Tecumseh  expressed  great  dissatisfaction,  and  threatened 
the  chiefs  who  had  made  the  treaty  with  death.  Hearing  of  his 
displeasure,  the  governor  invited  him  to  come  to  Vincennes,  and 
assured  him  **  that  any  claims  he  might  have  to  the  lands  which 
had  been  ceded  were  not  affected  by  the  treaty." 

Having  no  confidence  in  the  friendliness  of  Tecumseh,  the 
governor  insisted  that  he  should  not  bring  with  him  more  than 
thirty  warriors;  but  he  arrived  with  four  hundred  armed 
followers. 

The  people  of  Vincennes  were  greatly  alarmed,  nor  was  the 
governor  free  from  apprehension  of  intended  treachery.  The  en^ 
tire  Territory  consisted  of  three  settlements,  too  far  apart  to  rely 
upon  each  other  for  defensive  support  if  the  need  should  be  sudden 
and  imperative.  In  truth,  if  one  were  attacked,  all  were  in 
jeopardy.  The  scattered  population,  from  Kaskaskia  to  Kahokia, 
on  the  Mississippi ;  Clark's  Grant,  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio ;  and 
the  old  French  town  of  Vincennes,  would   not  count  quite  five 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS,  165 

thousand  inhabitants,  all  told.  It  is  easy  to  reckon  the  number 
of  fighting  men  that  could  be  spared  upon  so  exposed  a  frontier 
from  either  settlement,  when  all  were  assailable,  and  none  had 
a  sufficiently  strong  force  to  resist  the  combined  tribes  of  the 
New  Confederation,  thickly  scattered  within  and  upon  the  bor- 
ders of  the  Territory.  Add  to  the  weakness  of  the  defensive 
force  the  threatening  attitude  of  the  Indians,  who  were  jealous 
of  every  movement  of  the  Americans ;  the  wanton  provo- 
cation given  to  the  tribes  by  hunters  and  traders,  who,  presum- 
ing upon  an  enforced  peace,  insulted  and  cheated  them  ;  and 
last,  but  by  no  means  least,  the  intrigues  of  British  agents,  who 
did  not  scruple  to  go  all  lengths,  when  occasion  offered,  or  the 
possible  advantage  was  sufficiently  tempting;  and  it  will  be  easy 
to  reckon  the  difficulties  of  the  position. 

It  is  true  that  Governor  Harrison  had  been  invested  with  un- 
limited powers ;  but  with  "unlimited  powers  "  very  limited  means 
had  been  provided  for  enforcing  authority.  The  only  certainty 
upon  which  the  governor  could  count  was  his  imiimited  respofisi- 
bility  in  event  of  failure.  Such  was  the  setting  of  the  drama  at 
Vincennes  when  the  situation  opened. 

A  large  portico  in  front  of  the  governor's  house  had  been 
prepared  for  the  reception.  There  were  seats  provided  for  the 
Indian  leaders,  as  well  as  for  the  citizens  who  were  expected  to 
attend.  Tecumseh  came  from  his  camp  outside  of  the  town, 
with  about  forty  of  his  warriors ;  he  stood  in  the  grounds,  refus- 
ing to  enter,  saying  he  "  wished  the  council  to  be  held  under^the 
shade  of  some  trees  in  front  of  the  house."  As  host,  the  gov- 
ernor consented  to  the  wish  of  his  guest. 

At  this  council,  held  the  12th  of  August,  18 10,  Tecumseh,  in 
the  course  of  his  speech,  said :  "  Once  there  was  no  white  man 


l66  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

/ 

in  all  this  country ;  then  it  belonged  to  red  men,  children  of  the 
same  parents,  placed  on  it  by  the  Great  Spirit,  to  keep  it,  to 
travel  over  it,  to  eat  its  fruits,  and  fill  it  with  the  same  race ;  but 
these  red  men  and  their  children  have  been  driven  from  the  great 
salt  water,  forced  over  the  mountains  into  the  prairies,  away  from 
the  River,  which  was  a  natural  boundary ;  and  now,  if  they  do 
not  resist,  they  will  be  pushed  into  the  lakes.  But  they  have 
determined  to  go  no  further.  Each  tribe  can  sell  their  lands,  but 
all  must  join  in  the  sale,  for  it  requires  all  to  make  a  bargain." 

Governor  Harrison  replied :  "  The  government  had  found  the 
different  tribes  mentioned  in  the  sale  occupying  the  lands,"  add- 
ing that  he  ''believed  that  they  owned  it ;  and  it  was  useless  to 
assert  that  the  Indians  were  one  nation,  for  if  such  had  been  the 
case,  the  Great  Spirit  would  not  have  put  six  different  tongues  in 
their  heads,  but  would  have  taught  them  all  to  speak  one 
language ;  that  the  Miamis  had  found  it  for  their  interest  to  sell 
a  part  of  their  lands,  and  receive  for  them  a  further  annuity." 

The  interpreter  had  scarcely  finished,  when  Tecumseh  fiercely 
exclaimed,  "It  is  false!"  and  giving  a  signal  to  his  warriors, 
they  sprang  upon  their  feet  from  the  grass  upon  which  they 
were  sitting,  seizing  their  war-clubs  and  tomahawks.  The  gov- 
ernor rose,  placed  his  hand  upon  his  sword,  at  the  same  time 
directing  those  of  his  friends  and  suite  who  were  about  him  to 
stand  upon  their  guard.  Tecumseh  addressed  the  Indians  in  an 
impassioned,  earnest  tone,  which  at  times  changed  to  what  every 
listener  felt  to  be  fierce  and  violent  invective. 

Major  Floyd,  who  stood  near  the  governor,  drew  his  dirk; 
Winneneak,  a  friendly  chief,  cocked  his  pistol ;  and  Mr.  Winans, 
a  Methodist  preacher,  ran  to  the  governor's  house,  seized  a  gun, 
and  placed  himself  in  the  door  to  defend  the  family.     For  a  few 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  167 

moments  all  expected  a  bloody  ending  to  this  first  scene.  But 
the  governor  kept  cool,  and  told  Tecumseh  he  must  leave  the 
settlement  immediately. 

The  next  morning  Tecumseh,  having  reflected  on  his  impol- 
itic beginning,  and,  finding  that  he  had  to  deal  with  a  man  as 
bold  and  vigilant  as  himself,  apologized  for  the  affront  he  had 
offered,  and  begged  that  the  council  might  be  renewed. 

To  this  the  governor  consented,  determining  to  leave  no  exer- 
tion untried  to  carry  into  effect  the  pacific  views  of  the  govern- 
ment. To  prevent  a  repetition  of  the  scene,  he  ordered  two 
companies  of  militia  to  be  placed  on  duty  within  the  village. 
Tecumseh  presented  himself  with  the  same  undaunted  bearing 
which  always  marked  him  as  a  chieftain ;  but  he  was  now  dig- 
nified and  calm.  The  governor  inquired  whether  he  would 
forcibly  oppose  the  survey  of  the  purchase.  He  replied  that  he 
was  determined  to  adhere  to  the  old  boundary,  Then  there 
arose  a  Wyandot,  a  Kickapoo,  a  Pottawattamie,  an  Ottawa,  and  a 
Winnebago  chief,  each  declaring  his  determination  to  abide  by 
Tecumseh's  decision.  The  governor  replied  that  "  the  words  of 
Tecumseh  should  be  reported  to  the  President,  who  would  take 
measures  to  enforce  the  treaty;"  and  the  council  ended. 

The  governor,  still  anxious  to  conciliate  the  haughty  chief, 
went  the  next  day  to  Tecumseh's  camp;  but  beyond  the  cool 
courtesy  an  Indian  keeps  for  a  parley  which  is  intended  to  lead 
to  a  rupture,  nothing  was  gained  by  the  visit. 

Tn  181 1,  the  near  approach  of  a  war  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  excited  Tecumseh's  hopes,  and  made 
him  more  daringly  determined  to  try  conclusions  with  the 
Americans.  He  began  to  assemble  a  new  body  of  warriors  at 
the  Prophet's  town;    he    then  went   south  to  draw  their   new 


1 68  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

allies  northward ;  marauding  parties  roved  more  frequently  than 
ever  towards  the  settlements;  and  a  number  of  people  were 
murdered  on  the  frontiers  of  Indiana  and  Illinois.  These  cir- 
cumstances warned  the  governor  to  place  the  Territory  in  the 
best  attitude  for  defense  which  its  limited  resources  would  ad- 
mit. Very  soon  he  was  directed  by  the  President  to  move  with 
an  armed  force  towards  the  Prophet's  town. 

When  the  news  reached  Kentucky  that  Governor  Harrison 
was  authorized  to  march  against  the  Indians,  the  public  mind 
was  excited  to  enthusiasm.  The  name  of  Harrison  begot  confi- 
dence and  provoked  expectation.  Volunteers  all  along  the  bor- 
der at  once  announced  their  readiness  to  follow  his  standard. 
The  Fourth  Regiment  of  United  States  Infantry,  commanded 
by  Colonel  Boyd,  was  placed  under  his  orders.  The  army  then 
consisted  of  about  nine  hundred  men.  On  the  28th  of  October, 
181 1,  the  troops  began  their  march  from  Fort  Harrison,  on  the 
Wabash,  about  sixty  miles  above  Vincennes. 

The  advance  to  Tippecanoe  was  conducted  with  great  pru- 
dence. The  country  through  which  the  armj^  passed  was  chiefly 
beautiful,  open  prairie,  intersected  by  thick  woods,  overflowing 
creeks,  and  deep  ravines. 

To  deceive  the  enemy,  the  governor  caused  a  road  to  be 
"blazed"  and  partly  opened,  on  the  south  side;  he  advanced 
upon  it  for  a  short  distance,  and  then  suddenly  changed  his 
route  and  threw  his  whole  force  across  the  river,  to  the  right 
bank.  The  Indians  were  completely  deceived  by  this  maneuver, 
and  their  plans  defeated. 

On  the  4th  of  November  the  army  reached  Pine  Creek,  and 
prepared  to  make  the  difficult  crossing,  which  was  successfully 
accomplished.     The  account  of  the  engagement  has  been  well 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS,  169 

described  by  McAffee,  a  gallant  Kentuckian,  and  the  following 
is  his  description,  making  some  slight  corrections  from  other 
authorities : 

"  On  the  eveiiiug  of  November  5th  the  army  encamped  at  the  distance 
of  nine  or  ten  miles  from  the  Prophet's  town.  The  traces  of  reconnoitering 
parties  were  very  often  seen;  but  no  Indians  were  discovered  until  the 
troops  arrived  within  five  or  six  miles  of  the  town,  on  the  6th  of  November. 
The  interpreters  were  then  placed  with  the  advance  guard,  to  endeavor  to 
open  a  communication  with  them.  The  Indians  only  continued  to  insult 
our  people  by  their  gestures,     .     .     . 

"  Being  now  arrived  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  the  town,  and  the  situa- 
tion being  favorable  for  an  encampment,  the  governor  determined  to  remain 
there  and  fortify  his  camp,  until  he  could  hear  from  the  friendly  chiefs 
whom  he  had  dispatched  from  Fort  Harrison  on  the  day  he  had  left  it,  for 
the  purpose  of  making  another  attempt  to  prevent  hostilities.  Whilst  he 
was  engaged  in  tracing  out  the  lines  of  encampment.  Major  Daviess  and 
several  other  field-officers  urged  the  propriety  of  immediately  marching 
on  the  town.  But  the  governor  wished  to  hear  something  definite 
from  the  friendly  Indians  whom  he  had  dispatched  from  Fort  Harrison. 
He  was  determined  not  to  advance  with  the  troops  until  the  precise 
situation  of  the  town  was  known ;  for,  although  it  was  his  duty  to  fight 
when  he  came  in  contact  with  the  enemy,  it  was  also  his  duty  to  take 
care  that  they  should  not  engage  in  an  action  when  their  valor  would  be 
useless.  Major  Daviess  replied  that,  from  the  position  of  the  dragoons, 
the  openings  made  by  the  low  grounds  of  the  Wabash  could  be  seen ;  that 
he  had  advanced  to  the  bank,  and  had  a  fair  view  of  the  cultivated 
fields  and  houses  of  the  town.  Upom  this  information  the  governor  said  he 
would  advance,  provided  he  could  get  any  proper  person  to  go  to  the  town 
with  a  flag. 

"  Captain  T.  Dubois,  of  Vincennes,  having  offered  his  services,  he  was 
dispatched  with  an  interpreter  to  the  Prophet,  desiring  to  know  whether  he 
would  now  accept  the  terms  that  had  been  so  often  proffered.  The  army 
was  moved  slowly  after  in  order  of  battle. 

"  In  a  few  moments  a  messenger  came  from  Captain  Dubois  informing 
the  governor  that  the  Indians  were  near  him  in  considerable  numbers,  but 
that  they  would  return  no  answer  to  the  interpreter,  although  they  were 


lyo  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

sufficiently  near  to  hear  what  was  said  to  them  ;  and  that,  upon  his  advance 
ing,  they  constantly  endeavored  to  cut  him  off  from  the  army. 

"Governor  Harrison  could  no  longer  hesitate  to  treat  the  Indians  as 
enemies.  He  therefore  recalled  Captain  Dubois,  and  moved  forward  with 
a  determination  to  attack  them.  He  had  not  proceeded  far,  however,  be- 
fore he  was  met  by  three  Indians,  one  of  them  the  principal  counselor 
of  the  Prophet.  They  were  sent,  they  said,  to  know  why  the  army  was  ad- 
vancing upon  them ;  that  the  Prophet  wished,  if  possible,  to  avoid  hostili- 
ties ;  that  he  had  sent  a  pacific  message  by  the  Miami  and  Pottawattamie 
chiefs ;  and  that  these  chiefs  had  unfortunately  gone  down  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Wabash. 

"A  suspension  of  hostilities  was  accordingly  agreed  upon ;  and  a  meet- 
ing was  to  take  place  the  next  day  between  Harrison  and  the  chiefs. 

"  Upon  marching  a  short  distance  further  the  army  came  in  view  of  the 
town,  which  was  seen  at  some  distance  up  the  river  upon  a  commanding 
eminence.  Major  Davies  had  mistaken  some  scattering  houses  for  the 
town  itself  The  ground  below  the  town  being  unfavorable  for  an  encamp- 
ment, the  army  marched  on  in  the  direction  of  the  town.  The  dragoons 
being  in  front,  soon  became  entangled  in  ground  covered  with  brush  and 
tops  of  fallen  trees.  A  halt  was  ordered,  and  Major  Davies  directed  to 
change  position  with  Spencer's  rifle  corps,  which  occupied  the  open  fields 
adjacent  to  the  river. 

"The  Indians,  seeing  this  maneuver,  supposed  they  intended  to 
attack  the  town,  and  immediately  prepared  for  defense.  The  governor  rode 
forward  and  assured  them  that  nothing  was  further  from  his  thoughts,  that 
the  ground  below  the  town  on  the  river  was  not  fitted  for  an  encampment, 
and  that  it  was  his  intention  to  search  'for  a  better  one  above.  He  asked  if 
there  was  any  other  water  convenient  besides  the  river,  and  was  told  that 
there  was  a  creek  two  miles  back  to  the  north  of  the  village, 

"A  halt  was  ordered,  and  officers  sent  to  examine  the  creek  returned 
and  reported  that  they  had  found  every  thing  that  could  be  desirable  in 
an  encampment.  The  army  now  marched  to  the  place  selected,  and  en- 
camped late  in  the  evening,  on  a  dry  piece  of  ground.  The  order  given 
to  the  army,  in  the  event  of  a  night  attack,  was  for  each  corps  to  maintain 
its  ground  at  all  hazards  till  relieved.  The  dragoons  were  directed  in  such 
case  to  dismount,  with  their  swords  in  hand,  their  pistols  in  their  belts, 
and  wait  for  orders. 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  171 

"  On  the  night  of  the  6th  of  November,  the  troops  went  to  rest,  as 
usual,  with  their  clothes  and  accouterments  on,  and  their  arms  by  their 
sides.  The  officers  were  ordered  to  sleep  in  the  same  manner,  and  it  was 
the  governor's  invariable  practice  to  be  ready  to  mount  a  horse  at  a  mo- 
ment's warning.  On  the  following  morning  he  arose  at  a  quarter  to  four, 
and  sat  by  the  fire  conversing  with  the  gentlemen  of  his  family.  At  this 
moment  the  attack  commenced. 

"  The  treacherous  Indians  had  crept  up  so  near  the  sentries  as  to  hear 
them  challenge  when  relieved.  They  intended  to  rush  upon  the  sentries 
and  kill  them  before  they  could  fire  ;  but  one  discovered  an  Indian  creep- 
ing in  the  grass,  and  fired.  This  was  immediately  followed  by  an  Indian 
yell,  and  a  desperate  charge  upon  the  left  flank.  Captain  Barton's  com- 
pany of  regulars  and  Captain  Guiger's  company  of  mounted  riflemen  re- 
ceived the  first  onset  But  the  troops,  who  had  lain  on  their  arms,  were 
immediately  prepared  to  receive,  and  gallantly  to  resist,  the  furious  sav- 
age assailants.  The  manner  of  the  attack  was  calculated  to  terrify  the 
men,  but  they  maintained  their  ground  with  desperate  valor. 

"  Upon  the  first  alarm  the  governor  mounted  his  horse,  and  proceeded 
towards  the  point  of  attack,  and  finding  the  line  much  weakened  there,  he 
ordered  two  companies  from  the  center  of  the  rear  line  to  march  up  and  form 
across  the  angle  in  the  rear  of  Barton's  and  Guiger's  companies.  In  passing 
through  the  camp  towards  the  left  of  the  front  line,  he  was  informed  by 
Major  Davies  that  the  Indians,  concealed  behind  the  trees  near  the  line, 
were  annoying  the  troops  very  severely  in  that  quarter,  and  requested  per- 
mission to  dislodge  them.  In  attempting  this  charge,  Davies  fell,  mor- 
tally wounded,  as  also  did  Colonel  Isaac  White,  of  Indiana. 

"In  the  meantime  the  attack  on  the  companies  on  the  right  became 
very  severe.  Captain  Spencer  was  killed,  with  his  lieutenants,  and  Cap- 
tain Warwick  mortally  wounded.  The  governor,  in  passing  towards  that 
flank,  led  Captain  Robb's  company  to  the  aid  of  Captain  Spencer,  where 
they  fought  bravely,  having  seventeen  men  killed  during  the  battle.  While 
the  governor  was  leading  this  company  into  action.  Colonel  Owen,  his  aid, 
was  killed  at  his  side.  He  was  shot  by  one  of  the  Indians  who  broke 
through  the  lines,  and  who  doubtless  mistook  him  for  the  governor,  as  he 
was  mounted  on  a  gray  horse,  the  color  of  Harrison's,  but  in  the  sudden 
surprise,  Harrison  had  mounted  the  first  horse  he  could  get,  which  was 
not  his  old  gray. 


172  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

"  Soon  after  Davies  was  wounded,  Captain  Snelling,  by  order  of  the 
governor,  charged  upon  the  same  Indians,  and  dislodged  them  with  con- 
siderable loss.  The  battle  was  now  maintained  on  all  sides  with  deter- 
mined courage.  When  the  day  dawned,  the  troops  drove  the  enemy  into 
a  swamp,  through  which  the  cavalry  could  not  pursue  them.  At  the  same 
time  Cook's  and  Lieutenant  Larrabee's  companies,  with  the  aid  of  the  rifle- 
men and  militia,  charged  the  Indians,  and  put  them  to  flight  in  that  quar- 
ter, which  terminated  the  battle. 

"  During  the  time  of  the  contest,  the  Prophet  kept  himself  secure  on 
an  adjacent  eminence,  singing  a  war-song. 

"  Tecumseh  was  not  present  at  this  engagement,  not  having  yet  re- 
turned from  his  trip  to  Georgia  and  Florida." 

The  victory  of  Tippecanoe  was  the  most  decisive  battle  that 
had  yet  been  fought  between  the  Indians  and  the  Western  troops. 
The  Indians  were  completely  routed,  and  their  losses  were  un- 
usually great,  both  in  killed  and  wounded.  The  importance  of 
this  success  is  outlined  in  a  message  to  Congress  from  President 
Madison : 

"While  it  is  deeply  to  be  lamented  that  so  many  valuable  lives  have 
been  lost  in  the  action  which  took  place  on  the  9th  ult,  Congress  will  see 
with  satisfaction  the  dauntless  spirit  and  fortitude  victoriously  displayed 
by  every  description  of  troops  engaged,  as  well  as  the  collected  firmness 
which  distinguished  their  commander  on  an  occasion  requiring  the  utmost 
exertion  of  valor  and  discipline." 

The  Legislatures  of  Indiana  and  Kentucky  also  passed  like 
resolutions,  declaring  that  "  Governor  William  Henry  Harrison 
behaved  like  a  hero,  a  patriot,  and  a  general,  and  for  his  cool, 
deliberate,  skillful,  and  gallant  conduct  in  the  late  battle  of  Tip- 
pecanoe, deserves  the  warmest  thanks  of  the  nation."  One  of 
the  early  writers  of  Ohio  says : 

"  The  news  from  the  army  was  received  with  joy  and  gratitude.  Every 
town,  village,  and  hamlet  in  the  Valley  of  the  Ohio  joined  in  the  universal 
demonstration  of  thanks  to  the  troops  and  their  commander.     The  country 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  I73 

was  wild  with  delight ;  and  women  met  the  returning  soldiers  with  the 
heart-felt  welcome  of  mothers  who  believed  that  their  children  were  now 
safe  from  the  tomahawk  and  the  scalping-knife.  This  victory  restored 
confidence  to  the  timid  and  composure  to  the  fearful.  The  frontiersmen 
knew  how  different  would  have  been  the  scene  had  the  Prophet  been  the 
conqueror.  Through  the  light  of  these  fears  it  is  easy  to  understand  how, 
and  why,  Harrison  was  ever  afterwards  firmly  placed  in  the  hearts  of  the 
people  of  the  North-west" 

The  apparent  calm  which  succeeded  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe 
was  not  altogether  a  presage  of  peace,  but  rather  the  heavy- 
silence  which  foretells  a  coming  storm.  The  Indians  were  de- 
feated, but  they  were  not  conciliated ;  a  crisis  in  the  already 
strained  relations  existing  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  was  imminent. 

Tecumseh,  apprised  of  the  situation,  renewed  his  efforts  to 
bring  about  the  confederation  of  the  Nations,  which  had  seemed 
almost  hopeless  immediately  after  the  defeat  of  the  Prophet  at 
Tippecanoe.  That  disaster  would  have  been  impossible  if  the 
Great  Chief  had  not  been  absent,  for  his  sagacity  equaled  his 
courage.  But  in  each  of  these  long,  forced  expeditions  his 
brother,  when  left  in  comi^and,  either  through  the  rash  persist- 
ence of  some  young,  imprudent  follower,  or  led  by  his  over- 
weening vanity* to  believe  himself  a  strategist  superior  to 
Tecumseh,  never  failed  to  precipitate  the  outbreak  which  Te- 
cumseh had  strenuously  labored  to  avoid  until  his  allies  were 
ready  and  a  sure  occasion  presented  itself  to  retake  all  the  lands 
the  tribes  had  lost,  and  regain  the  one  boundary  which  they  had 
never  relinquished,  the  Ohio  River. 

The  United  States  declared  war  against  Great  Britain,  June 
i8,  1812.  The  people  of  the  North-west  naturally  looked  to 
Harrison  as  their  leader.     It  was  an  obvious  fact  that  the  first 

12 


174  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

blow  would  be  struck  in  the  West.  And  so  public  expectation 
was,  in  a  measure,  prepared  for  the  losses  that  came  through 
Hull's  surrender;  and,  just  as  naturally,  the  people  believed 
that  Harrison  could  and  would  retrieve  those  losses,  and  prevent 
the  wide-spread  savage  onslaught  that  was  again  threatened. 
They  had  not  forgotten  that  he  was  a  prudent  as  well  as  a  gal- 
lant soldier.  The  common  danger  swept  away  all  regard  for 
forms  and  precedents.  Governor  Scott,  of  Kentucky,  gave  Har- 
rison a  commission  as  major-general  in  the  Kentucky  militia, 
and  at  the  head  of  seven  thousand  Kentuckians  he  marched 
northward  to  regain  what  Hull  had  lost. 

For  ten  days  Fort  Wayne  had  been  besieged  by  the  Indians. 
At  Harrison's  approach  they  retired  without  waiting  to  hazard 
a  battle.  The  Kentucky  militia  were  hardly  encamped  when  a 
United  States  officer  arrived  to  take  command  of  the  army.  He 
outranked  the  militia  general  Kentucky  had  created,  and  the 
camp  was  in  a  ferment  of  discontent,  refusing  to  fight  under  any 
leader  but  the  one  their  governor  had  appointed,  and  whom  they 
had  fought  with  and  under  from  the  time  of  Wayne's  victory  to 
the  temporary  truce  given  to  the  Indian  question  at  Tippecanoe. 
Harrison  himself  persuaded  them  into  acceptance  of  the  new 
order  of  things,  and  they  consented  to  serve  under  Winchester 
until  their  remonstrance  could  be  sent  in,  and  the  War  Depart- 
ment heard  from.  They  had  not  long  to  wait  before  President 
Madison  relieved  General  Winchester  of  the  command,  and  ap- 
pointed Harrison  as  general-in-chief  of  the  North-western  army. 

The  wisdom  of  this  new  appointment  was  soon  seen  in  the 
improved  disposition  of  the  troops ;  and  it  was  still  more  conclu- 
sively proven  by  Winchester's  ill-success  in  a  separate  command, 
and  the  terrible  massacre  of  his  men  at  the  river  Raisin.     After 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS,  175 

sustaining  a  furious  assault  against  overpowering  numbers  of 
the  British  and  their  Indian  allies,  Winchester's  line  was  broken 
and  scattered,  and  the  Indians  began  a  horrible  butchery.  One 
hundred  and  twenty  prisoners  were  slaughtered  in  one  spot. 
Graves's  division  surrendered  to  Proctor  on  a  pledge  of  security 
and  the  larger  number  were  killed  within  sight  of  Proctor's 
head-quarters. 

General  Harrison,  hearing  at  the  Rapids  of  the  attack  upon 
Winchester's  camp,  hastened  to  his  relief  with  all  the  available 
force  that  was  within  his  reach.  They  were  met  by  the  fugi- 
tives that  had  escaped,  who  told  them  of  Winchester's  total  de- 
feat. Leaving  a  strong  scouting  party  to  bring  in  the  fugitives, 
the  troops  returned  to  the  Rapids. 

The  force  at  the  Rapids  now  amounted  to  less  than  nine  hun- 
dred effective  men.  The  commander  fell  back  to  Portage  River, 
eighteen  miles  distant,  and  threw  up  intrenchments ;  but  being 
re-enforced  by  General  Leftwich  with  the  Virginia  brigade  and 
a  battery,  they  again  retook  their  former  position  at  the  Rapids, 
which  was  strongly  fortified  and  called  Camp  Meigs. 

Every  family  in  Kentucky  suffered  some  loss  at  the  massacre 
of  the  Raisin.  The  fighting  temper  of  her  people  was  never 
more  severely  tried  and  never  showed  firmer  endurance.  When 
the  news  reached  Frankfort  the  Legislature  was  in  session, 
and  the  governor  signed  a  bill  that  day  "to  raise  three  thousand 
volunteers  to  replace  those  lost  in  the  inhuman  butchery  at  the 
river  Raisin."  The  mothers,  wives,  and  sisters  of  the  dead 
made  the  clothing  and  tents  for  the  new  recruits,  that  were  so 
needed  at  Fort  Meigs,  which  Harrison  was  holding  against  a 
force  of  six  hundred  British  regulars,  eight  hundred  Canadian 
militia,  and  eighteen  hundred  Indians  led  by  Tecumseh  in  person. 


176  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

It  would  be  impossible,  in  such  brief  space,  to  tell  the  story  of 
that  heroic  defense  as  it  should  be  told.  The  British  and  Indians 
appeared  before  the  fort  on  the  26th  of  April,  and  on  the  ist  of 
May  their  batteries  were  in  place,  and  the  bombardment  began. 
It  lasted  for  eight  days,  and  during  that  time  the  American  loss 
was  small.  The  third  day  the  besiegers  appeared  to  work  slowly, 
and  the  garrison  mounted  the  earth-works  and  cheered  them  on. 
On  the  night  of  the  3d  the  British  erected  a  gun  and  mortar 
battery  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  within  two  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  of  the  American  lines.  The  Indians  climbed  into 
trees  near  the  fort  and  poured  a  steady  fire  into  the  garrison. 
In  this  situation  Harrison  received  from  Proctor  a  summons  to 
surrender,  which  was  answered  promptly  by  this  refusal : 

**  I  believe  I  have  a  very  correct  idea  of  General  Proctor's  force ;  it  is 
not  such  as  to  create  the  least  apprehension  for  the  result  of  the  contest, 
whatever  shape  he  may  be  hereafter  pleased  to  give  it.  Assure  the  general 
that  he  will  never  have  this  post  surrendered  to  him  upon  any  terms. 
Should  it  fall  into  his  hands,  it  will  be  in  a  manner  calculated  to  do  him 
more  honor,  and  to  give  him  larger  claims  upon  the  gratitiide  of  his  gov- 
ernment, than  any  capitulation  could  possibly  do." 

At  twelve  o'clock  the  following  night  General  Green  Clay, 
with  twelve  hundred  Kentuckians,  reached  the  Maumee  Rapids, 
and  sent  Captain  Leslie  Combs  to  communicate  with  General 
Harrison.  When  within  a  mile  of  the  fort.  Captain  Combs  was 
attacked  by  the  Indians  and  obliged  to  retreat,  after  the  loss  of 
nearly  all  his  men.  Young  William  Oliver  managed  to  crawl 
through  the  Indians,  and  reached  the  fort  before  midnight,  with 
the  news  of  General  Clay's  speedy  arrival. 

Harrison  now  determined  on  a  general  attack,  and  sent  or- 
ders to  Clay  to  "land  eight  hundred  men  on  the  right  bank,  take 
the  battery,  and  spike  the  guns."     The  remainder  were  ordered 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  177 

to  "land  on  the  left  bank,  and  fight  their  way  to  the  fort." 
General  Clay  descended  the  river  as  ordered,  each  officer  taking 
position  according  to  his  rank.  Colonel  Dudley  led  the  van, 
and  landed  on  the  right  bank  without  difficulty.  The  violence 
of  the  current  on  the  rapids  prevented  the  orders  being  strictly 
obeyed.  Clay  landed  on  the  left  bank,  with  only  fifty  men,  and 
fought  his  way  into  the  fort.  Two  sorties  were  made  from  the 
garrison,  one  on  the  left,  in  aid  of  Colonel  Boswell,  by  which 
the  Canadian  militia  and  Indians  were  defeated,  and  he  enabled 
to  reach  the  fort  in  safety;  and  one  on  the  right,  against  the 
British  batteries,  which  was  also  successful. 

Dudley's  detachment  "  drove  the  British  from  their  batteries 
and  spiked  the  cannon  ;"  but  although  repeatedly  recalled  by  their 
officers,  the  men  pursued  the  enemy  and  were  drawn  into  an  am- 
buscade, where  they  were  surrounded  by  British  regulars  and  In- 
dians, and  their  retreat  prevented.  They  were  "  huddled  together 
in  an  unresisting  crowd,  and  obliged  to  surrender."  Fortunately 
for  them,  Tecumseh  commanded.  The  Indians,  with  five  hun- 
dred prisoners  at  their  mercy,  began  a  massacre.  Tecumseh 
ordered  it  stopped,  and  killed  a  chief  who  refused  to  obey  the 
order.     Of  the  eight  hundred,  only  one  hundred  and  fifty  escaped. 

On  the  9th  of  May  Proctor  raised  the  siege,  and  hurried  to 
Maiden.  After  that,  Tecumseh  was  repeatedly  seen  near  the  fort, 
grave,  stern,  and  splendidly  mounted.  "He  seemed  to  be  taking 
a  very  calm  and  deliberate  survey  of  our  works."  One  of  the 
captives  saved  by  Tecumseh  thus  described  the  chief: 

"  This  celebrated  man  was  a  noble,  dignified  personage.  He  wore  an 
elegant  broadsword,  and  was  dressed  as  an  Indian  warrior.  His  face  was 
finely  proportioned,  his  nose  inclined  to  the  aquiline,  and  his  eyes  had  none 
of  the  savage  and  ferocious  triumph  common  to  the  other  Indians."    He 


178  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

regarded  us  with  unmoved  composure,  and  I  thought  a  beam  of  mercy  shone 
in  his  countenance.     I  never  saw  him  again." 

The  history,  as  continued  by  the  captive,  shows  so  clearly 
the  nearness  of  the  tragic  and  the  comic,  that  we  insert  it. 

"On  our, march  to  the  garrison  the  Indians  began  to  strip  us.  One 
took  my  hat,  another  my  hunting-shirt,  a  third  my  waistcoat,  until  I  was 
left  with  only  my  undershirt  and  breeches.  Having  read,  when  a  boy, 
Smith's  narrative  of  his  life  among  the  Indians,  my  idea  of  their  character 
was  that  they  treated  those  best  who  appeared  most  fearless.  Und^r  that 
impression,  as  we  marched  into  the  garrison,  I  looked  at  the  Indians  we  met 
with  all  the  sternness  of  countenance  I  could  command.  I  soon  caught  the 
eye  of  a  stout  warrior,  painted  a  lively  red.  He  gazed  as  fiercely  at  me  as  I 
did  at  him,  until  I  came  within  reach,  when,  with  a  contemptuous  grunt,  he 
gave  me  a  cut  over  the  nose  and  cheek-bone  with  his  wiping-stick,  which 
made  me  abandon  the  notion  acquired  from  Smith ;  and  I  afterwards  made 
as  little  display  of  hauteur  and  defiance  as  possible." 

General  Harrison  repaired  the  fort,  and  then,  leaving  Gen- 
eral Clay  in  command,  left  for  I^ower  Sandusky,  to  organize 
the  new  levies.  He  had  not  been  long  absent  before  the  garri- 
son understood  the  meaning  of  Tecumseh's  "  calm  and  delib- 
erate" inspection.  July  the  20th  the  enemy  were  discovered 
ascending  the  river.  A  party  of  ten  men,  out  on  a  scout,  were 
surprised  by  Indians  in  the  woods,  and  only  three  escaped. 

The  force  which  began  the  second  siege  of  Fort  Meigs  com- 
prised five  thousand  men,  under  Proctor  and  Tecumseh  (who 
now  wore  the  uniform  of  a  British  general) ;  the  number  of  In- 
dians was  greater  than  any  ever  before  assembled  under  these 
commanders.  Toward  evening  the  British  regulars  were  postea 
in  the  ravine  below  the  fort,  and  the  cavalry  in  the  woods 
above,  while  the  Indians  were  on  the  Sandusky  road.  Just 
before  dark  a  roar  of  musketry  indicated  a  severe  battle.     It  was 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  179 

so  skillfully  shammed  that  the  garrison  flew  to  arms,  and  even 
the  ofl&cers  of  all  grades  insisted  on  marching  to  the  assistance 
of  the  re-enforcement  they  believed  to  be  on  the  road.  It  was 
not  without  great  difl&culty  that  General  Clay  convinced  them 
it  was  only  a  stratagem  of  the  enemy.  Fortunately  a  very 
heavy  storm  and  pouring  rain  put  an  end  to  the  battle. 

The  next  day  the  British  regulars  were  gone,  and  the  In- 
dians soon  disappeared.  A  few  days  after,  they  attempted  to 
carry  Fort  Stephenson  by  assault,  and  were  most  gallantly  re- 
pulsed by  Major  George  Croghan,  of  whom  General  Harrison 
says  in  his  official  report :  "It  will  not  be  among  the  least  of 
General  Proctor's  mortifications  that  he  has  been  baffled  by 
a  youth  who  has  just  passed  his  twenty-first  year.  He  is, 
however,  a  hero  worthy  of  his  gallant  uncle,  General  George 
Rogers  Clark." 

From  this  time  on,  to  the  day  of  his  brilliant  victory  of  the 
*'  Thames,"  General  Harrison  scored  a  succession  of  triumphs. 
The  British,  soon  after  their  second  failure  at  Fort  Meigs,  con- 
centrated all  their  force  at  Maiden.  Many  of  the  Indians,  dis- 
pirited by  numerous  defeats,  became  discontented,  and  little 
parties  were  constantly  leaving  for  the  upper  lakes,  where  "  the 
hunting  season  had  begun."  All  that  remained  were  the  tribes 
who  were  under  the  direct  command  of  Tecumseh. 

Thus  far  Harrison's  campaign  had  been  a  purely  defensive 
one ;  but  the  time  had  come  to  change  this  Fabian  policy  and 
assume  the  aggressive.  He  could  not  permit  the  enemy  to  rest 
in  security  after  their  return  from  a  campaign  of  invasion.  He 
too  was  ready  to  "  carry  the  war  into  Africa."  His  purpose  now 
was  to  capture  Maiden  and  conquer  Upper  Canada. 

On  the  20th  of  July,  18 13,  General  Harrison  was  informed  that 


l8o  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

the  naval  armament,  built  under  Perry's  superintendence,  was 
ready  for  action.  On  the  2d  of  August  Perry  took  his  fleet  over 
the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  and  sailed  for  Sandusky,  to 
get  his  orders  from  the  commanding  general.  Harrison  directed 
him  to  proceed  at  once  to  Maiden,  and  to  bring  the  enemy  to 
battle,  as  he  (Harrison)  believed  the  British  commander  was 
waiting  to  attack  the  fleet  while  it  was  engaged  in  the  transpor- 
tation of  the  troops  to  Canada. 

On  the  1 2th,  Harrison,  writing  to  Governor  Shelby,  says: 

"  Our  fleet  has  undoubtedly  met  that  of  the  enemy.  The  day  before 
yesterday  a  tremendous  and  incessant  cannonade  was  heard  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Maiden ;  it  lasted  two  hours.     I  am  all  anxiety  for  the  event." 

Before  the  messenger  was  out  of  sight  with  the  letter,  came 
one  from  Perry : 

"U.  S.  Brig  'Niagara,'  off  the  Western  Sisters,  \ 
September  lo,  1813— 4  P.  M.  ' 

"  Dear  Generai,, — We  have  met  the  enemy,  and  they  are  ours — two 
ships,  two  brigs,  one  schooner,  and  a  sloop.  Yours,  with  great  respect  and 
esteem,  Oi^ivER  Hazard  Perry. 

"  General  W.  H.  Harrison." 

On  the  20th  of  September  General  Harrison  embarked  with 
the  regular  troops,  under  Generals  McArthur  and  Cass,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  army  followed  to  Put-in-Bay.  On  the  26th  he 
sailed  with  Commodore  Perry,  in  the  Ariel,  to  reconnoiter  Mai- 
den. On  the  27th  the  army  embarked,  and  proceeded  towards 
the  Canada  shore.  They  landed  in  high  spirits  ;  but  not  an  en- 
emy was  to  be  seen.  The  inhabitants  of  Canada  had  fled  from 
their  houses,  and  hid  their  property.  The  enemy  was  over- 
taken on  the  5th  of  October. 

"  His  right  flank  was  covered  by  a  swamp  supposed  to  be  impassable ; 
his  left,  drawn  up  by  the  river  Thames,  was  supported  by  artillery ;  while 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS.  l8l 

tlie  Indians,  two  thousand  strong,  were  posted  on  the  right  of  the  British 
regulars,  and  commanded  by  Tecumseh. 

"  General  Harrison  drew  up  one  division  of  his  infantry  in  a  double 
line,  reacliing  from  the  river  to  the  swamp,  opposite  Proctor's  troops;  and 
the  other  diWsion  at  right  angles  to  the  first,  with  its  front  extending 
along  the  swamp.  The  mounted  Kentuckians,  under  Colonel  Johnson, 
were  placed  in  front  of  the  infantrj-,  General  Harrison  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  front  line.  When  Perry,  who  served  as  his  aid-de-camp,  remon- 
strated with  him  on  this  imprudence  as  a  general,  he  replied :  '  It  is  neces- 
sary that  a  general  should  set  the  example.'  Just  then  Colonel  Wood 
reported  that  the  infantry  of  the  enemy  was  formed  in  open  column. 
(A  space  of  five  feet  between  the  ranks.)  Harrison  instantly  changed  his 
order  of  attack,  and  directed  a  charge  of  the  mounted  men,  with  orders  to 
form  in  two  charging  columns,  and  on  receiving  the  enemy's  fire,  to 
charge  through  their  ranks,  and  act  as  circumstances  seemed  to  require." 

The  cavalry  were  thrown  into  a  momentary  confusion  when 
the  British  infantry  fired;  the  horses  were  badly  frightened, 
which  gave  the  British  time  to  reload ;  but  when  the  column 
was  fairly  in  motion,  they  rode  down  the  enemy.  Forming  again 
in  their  rear,  the  cavalry  charged  through  and  through  the 
flying  troops,  and  the  victory  was  virtually  won.  After  the  rout 
of  the  regulars,  there  was  skirmishing  on  the  left  wing,  when 
Harrison  ordered  Colonel  Richard  M.  Johnson  to  cross  the 
swamp  and  attack  the  Indians.  Here  for  a  short  time  the  con- 
flict was  obstinate  and  the  defense  determined ;  but  Tecumseh's 
death  ended  the  battle,  and,  in  fact,  ended  the  war  on  the  North- 
west frontier. 

It  was  the  death  of  the  Indian  Confederation,  and  the  crown- 
ing victory  of  the  man  the  Nortli-west  delighted  to  honor ;  the 
man  "who  never  forgot  a  friend;"  the  "general  who  never  lost 
a  battle" — that  was  the  proud  boast  of  the  Whigs  in  1840.  At 
this  date  his  best  claim  to  remembrance  and  honor  is,  "  that  he 


I82 


THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 


was  just  to  the  Indian  in  peace,  and  a  fair,  honorable,  and  mer- 
ciful enemy  in  a  war  that  was  stained  by  cruelty  and  hate." 

The  region  in  which  Tecumseh  fought  his  last  battles 
was  also  the  scene  of  Pontiac's  struggle.  Both  fought  for 
admitted  rights,  which  had  been  recognized  in  treaty  after 
treaty ;  fought  for  their  lost  lands  and  the  RivKR  Boundary  ; 
fought  the  same  foes — the  grim  fighters  of  Kentucky,  and 
those  steadfast  Saxons,  descendants  of  the  old  Colonial  Vir- 
ginians, who  had  stood  by  the  King  or  Cromwell  in  the 
"brave  days  of  old."  Of  all  the  martial  figures  that  have 
gone  down  before  this  ''fighting  contingent,"  none  showed 
greater  prowess  in  the  field,  none  were  wiser  in  council,  none 
more  daringly  rash  in  action,  none  more  devoted  to  the  union 
of  a  nation  and  the  glory  of  a  race  than  the  great  chieftain  who 
fell  beside  the  Thames — fighting  for  his  people,  and  their  right 
to  the  north  shore  of  Thk  Bright  Shining  River.* 
c.  M.  c. 

*  Appendix  A,  No.  V. 


A 


UP  CHEAT  RIVER. 


PART  SECOND. 


fl?Ioat  09  tfpe  Deep,  Shining  l^iver. 


FROM  PITTSBURG  TO  CAIRO 

ON 


a^B  Mjw. 


A^Ioab  or)  bl)e  Deep  Sbipip^  River, 


ilh^ 


NOTWITHSTANDING  the  rapidly  increasing  threads 
of  the  immense  railway  systems  which  are  constantly 
being  woven  into  a  chain-work  of  steel  and  iron,  up 
and  down  and  across  the  river — from  Pittsburgh  to  Cairo — 
its  waters  still  bear  bravely  a  noble  fleet  of  Steamers. 

Each  city  on  the  Ohio  has  its  system  of  regular 
"packets."  And  although  the  palmy  days  are  gone,  when 
one  steamboat  brought  the  rich  gifts  of  fortune  to  owners 
and  officers,  there  are  very  certain  and  comforting  gains 
yet  to  be  gathered  by  the  happy  holders  of  "  stock  in  a 
Packet  Company." 

In  the  early  days  of  steamboating  ventures,  a  village  on  the 
Ohio,  or  sometimes  a  neighborhood  landing-place,  "  owned  a 
boat,"  which,  from  the  "  pilot-house  "  to  the  "  lower  deck,"  was 
officered  and  occasionally  manned  by  the  owners  or  their  kins- 
men. Sturdy  fellows  and  true  were  these  "  boatmen " — un- 
lettered, yet  frequently  the  lucky  owners  of  that  more  profitable 
learning  which  use  doth  breed.  They  were,  in  the  main,  un- 
taught of  schools  or  books,  and  had  but  slight  respect  for  a 
man  who  got  all  he  knew  from  such  uncertain  sources.  They 
were  not  gentlemen,  in  the  circumscribed  sense ;  yet  they  were 
noi  at  all  uyimannered  meii,  for  they  united  to  courage  gentle- 
ness.    Granted   that  they  were  sometimes  compelled  by  stress 

187 


1 88  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

of  circumstance,  to  knock  down  a  refractory  "deck-hand."  or 
quiet  with  harsh  voice  a  roystering  "  roustabout ;"  nevertheless, 
when  that  urgent  duty  was  done,  they  were  courteous,  attentive, 
and  gallant  to  every  woman,  young  or  old,  who  set  foot  upon 
the  *'  gangway."  Besides,  they  were  the  tenderest  and  most  in- 
dulgent comrades  of  the  small  travelers,  who,  with  that  peculiar 
occult  understanding  of  the  child-mind,  soon  discovered  that 
the  vantage  ground  of  baby-independence  was  found  when  a 
small  autocrat  set  foot  on  the  "hurricane  deck,"  or  outran  the 
nurse  in  a  race  forward. 

But  "other  times,  other  manners."  The  old-fashioned 
steamboatmen — may  Heaven  keep  them  from  avarice  or  purse- 
pride  ! — have  left  the  RivER,  to  put  government  bonds  in 
Safe-Deposits.  Yet,  in  view  of  the  changed  conditions,  we 
feel  ready  to  wager  our  last  shilling  that  those  hapless  and 
miserable  millionares  are  walking  sadly  through  the  "  marble 
halls"  of  an  effete  (or  mushroom)  aristocracy,  sighing  for  the 
lost  freedom  of  the  "  upper  deck,"  and  longing  for  the 
satisfying  banquets  of  "Texas." 

The  old-time  pilots  trained  in  the  schools  which  required 
daring  as  well  as  doing,  are  still  in  their  old  places ;  for  their 
gains  were  less,  and  their  skill  was  so  wonderful,  and  their 
courage  so  constant  that  they  could  not  be  spared  from  the 
"pilot-house." 

The  course  of  the  Ohio  is  a  very  crooked  one.  From  Pitts- 
burgh it  takes  a  north-west  direction  for  about  twenty-five  miles, 
then  turns  in  gradual  inflections  west— south— west,  following 
this  general  direction  for  nearly  five  hundred  miles,  when  it 
bends  more  decidedly  to  the  south-west  for  one  hundred  and 
sixty  miles,  then  almost  due  west  in  easy  serpentine  curves  to 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER. 


189 


where  it  joins  the  Mississippi  in  a  south-east  course,  latitude 
36°  46',  eleven  hundred  miles  below  its  source.  The  dangers 
and  difi&culties  of  this  tortuous  course  are  increased  when  the  un- 
certain currents  of  its  lower  tributaries  increase  the  volume  of 
its  waters;  and  the  floods  filf  up  or  wash  out  the  river-bed 
into  new  channels.  In  addition  to  these  opposing  forces  in  its 
lower  lengths,  the  river  has  numerous  islands — fifty  within  a 
distance  of  three  hundred  and  ninety  miles.  Its  banks  are  low 
where  the  hills  recede  from  the  water,  leaving  wide  stretches  of 
bottom-lands  which  are  subject  to  heavy 
inundations  when  a  late  spring  and  fre- 
quent rains  bring  the  melting  snows  in 
swelling  torrents  down  from  the  mount- 
ains. 

Yet  let  the  wind  "  blow  high  or  blow 
low,"  let  the  floods  come,  let  the  tticky  river 
play    at    hide- 
and-seek  with  p~>i 
its  channel, 
the  skill  of  the 
pilot   is  rarely 
at  fault.     Mas- 
ter    of    the 
wheel,  he  calm- 
ly faces  the  sit- 
u at  ion    and 
holds  his  own. 

The  Ohio 
has  two  regu- 
lar seasons  of 


I90  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO.- 

high  water,  the  spring  floods  varying  in  date  from  the  last 
of  February  to  May,  and  even  so  late  as  June ;  and  the  autumn 
"  rises,"  from  October  to  early  December. 

From  DuQUKSNE  Heights,  at  Pittsburgh,  one  has  a  com- 
manding view  of  the  junction  of  the  Allegheny  and  the  Mononga- 
hela.  There  are  charming  border  stretches  up  the  valleys  of 
the  formative  affluents,  and  a  wonderful  breadth  of  effect  where 
the  Ohio  sweeps  its  collected  streams  around  Davis  Island.  If 
one  sees  this  striking  river-view  in  the  clear  and  pure  out- 
line, in  the  precise  distinctness  of  dawn,  or  when  the  setting 
sun  lights  the  reflective  waters  with  resplendent  color,  it  is 
fixed  in  the  mind  for  all  after  days.  To  an  imaginative  person 
the  scene  is  most  attractive  at  night;  for  it  seems  "a  faery 
vision,"  when  the  natural-gas  torches  are  aflame  with  the  New 
World's  exhibit  of  the  ''Holy  Fires  of  Baku." 

The  story  of  the  Ohio  has  a  certain  mystic  and  poetic  back- 
ground which  gives  it  a  striking  and  weird  significance  in  the 
chronicles  of  the  last  two  centuries,  altogether  different  from  the 
tame  and  commonplace  annals  of  other  gentle-flowing  streams. 

The  River  has  not  only  been  the  scene  of  dramatic  incidents, 
but  it  has  also  been  the  cause  of  leading  events.  In  the  various 
conflicts  for  its  possession,  and  in  the  successive  tragedies  enacted 
upon  its  banks,  it  was  not  merely 

"Part  of  the  fateful  setting  of  the  play," 

but  an  actual  Character  in  a  series  of  occurrences  to  which  it 
lends  the  investiture  of  dramatic  unity.  In  the  legends  of  the 
Western  Indians,  who  fought  for  it  with  such  persistence  and 
relinquished  it  with  such  bitterness,  it  ranks  as  a  Personage,  and 
in  their  traditional  stories  it  bears  a  strangely  grotesque  likeness 
to  the  fabled  river  gods  of  classic  Greece. 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  191 

The  streams  running  into  the  Ohio  have  rich  bottom-lands, 
which  are  easy  of  culture,  but  nothing  could  excel  the  fertility 
of  the  River's  banks.  Michaux,  the  eminent  French  naturalist, 
who  went  down  the  Ohio  in  1803,  says : 

"  The  soil  is  a  true  vegetable  earth  produced  by  the  thick  bed  of  leaves 
annually  collected  on  the  ground  for  centuries,  and  converted  into  mould  by 
the  prevalent  humidity.  Additions  have  been  made  to  these  successive 
beds  of  vegetable  earth  from  the  trunks  of  enormous  trees  destroyed  by 
age.  ...  I  have  seen  nothing  to  be  compared  to  the  vegetative  power 
of  these  forests." 

He  gives  the  measure  of  a  plane-tree  {Platanus  occidejitalis) , 
the  circumference  of  which,  at  five  feet  above  the  ground,  was 
forty  feet  and  four  inches — about  thirteen  feet  in.diameter.  He 
adds:  "General  Washington  measured  this  same  tree  fifty 
years  ago." 

The  forests  that  edge  the  southern  affluents  of  the  Ohio,  and 
cover  the  overlooking  heights,  are  grouped  into  colonies  of  soft 
and  hard  wood — of  willow,  poplar,  sycamore,  gum,  maple,  wal- 
nut, cherry,  ash,  hickory,  and  oak ;  while  above  all,  and  over  all, 
tower  unnumbered  acres  of  pine  and  cedar. 

There  are  nowhere  any  wide,  billowy  prairies,  rolling  back- 
ward from  the  Ohio,  yet  the  narrowness  of  the  landscape  only 
adds  a  more  striking  and.  definite  effect  to  the  presentations 
offered  in  the  long  successive  miles  of  alternating  cities,  villages, 
farms,  and  forests  upon  its  banks.  Its  marginal  stretches  of 
uncultivated  woodlands  show  a  richness  of  coloring,  a  magnifi- 
cence of  growth,  a  luxuriance  of  hanging  vine  and  flowering 
shrub,  that  belong  of  right  only  to  a  virgin  forest,  and  yet  this 
unspoiled  wilderness  of  .shade  that  lends  its  most  perfect  charm 


192  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

to  the  river  is,  in  the  main,  a  voluntary  growth  of  the  last 
twenty  years. 

Then,  again,  the  river  is  unlike  all  others  in  its  constant 
reproduction  of  certain  characteristics.  From  Pittsburgh  to 
Cairo  its  individuality  is  never  lost.  The  graceful  curves  con- 
tinue their  sentinel  line  of  unending,  yet  ever-changing,  linked 
and  rounded  hills,  which  stretch  from  the  out-pushing  spurs  of 
the  Allegheny  Mountains,  to  where  the  Mississippi  sweeps  its 
solemn  floods  by  the  little  city  which  is  yet  to  be  the  Queen,  as 
it  is  now  the  Gateway  of  Rivers — never  losing  the  glittering 
continuity  of  its  water-reflected  chain. 

Situated  at  the  head  of  this  remarkable  system  of  inland 
navigation,  Pittsburgh  reaches  by  river  transportation  eighteen 
States  and  two  Territories,  while  it  also  stands  as  the  center  of 
railway  systems  that  radiate  to  all  points  of  the  compass. 
Along  the  Allegheny,  Monongahela,  and  Ohio  Rivers,  for  some 
distance  from  Pittsburgh,  shipment  direct  from  the  factories  is 
daily  practiced ;  and  the  increasing  demand  for  cheap  transporta- 
tion, encouraging  the  rivalry  between  the  natural  water-ways 
and  the  railway-systems,  will  finally  cause  all  the  navigable 
affluents  of  the  River  to  be  made  as  available  for  transport  as 
engineering  skill  can  render  them. 

The  Ohio  is  a  continuation  of  the  Monongahela,  and  not 
of  the  Allegheny,  which  arrives  at  the  conflux  in  an  oblique 
direction,  and  is  a  swifter,  as  well  as  a  clearer,  stream  than  the 
larger  southern  a£3uent.  From  the  very  force  and  swiftness  of 
its  descent  from  the  uplands,  the  Allegheny  was  always  compara- 
tively free  from  obstructions  to  navigation,  while  the  sluggish 
Monongahela  has  been  opened  by  a  system  of  locks,  ending  at 
Davis  Island  Dam,  which  effectually  protects  it  from  the  ag- 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  193 

gressive  incursions  of  the  Allegheny.     Nine  bridges  link  Alle- 
gheny City  and  Pittsburgh,  and  five  span  the  Monongahela. 

Fort  Pitt,  built  by  the  troops,  was  finished  about  the  ist  of 
January,  1759.  The  French,  from  Venango,  were  preparing  to 
undertake  its  reconquest.  However,  hearing  that  Sir  William 
Johnson  was  marching  against  Fort  Niagara,  they  were  diverted 
from  their  undertaking.  At  this  opportune  moment  General 
John  Stanwix  presents  himself  in  the  Hst  of  memorable  histor- 
ical names.  He  was  chief  engineer  in  constructing  the  defens- 
ive works,  of  which  he  says  in  a  letter  dated  September  24th : 
"  It  will  to  latest  posterity  secure  the  British  empire  on  the 
Ohio."  Washington  writes,  in  1770,  criticising  its  construction 
which  was  aftervN^ards  partially  remedied. 

In  1760  the  works  were  reported  completed  from  the  Alle- 
gheny to  the  Monongahela,  and  they  cost  the  British  Govern- 
ment ;^6o,ooo  sterling.  Fifteen  years  later  it  was  abandoned  by 
order  of  the  British  Government,  and  now  nothing  of  Fort  Pitt 
remains,  and  the  only  memorial  of  the  British  possession  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley  is  a  single  "redoubt,"  built  in  1764  by  Colonel 
Bouquet,  outside  the  fort,  now  used  as  a  dwelling.  It  was  prob- 
ably soon  after  the  Battle  of  Bushy  Run  that  Colonel  Bouquet 
built  the  "redoubt"  (1764),  and  in  the  same  year  Colonel  John 
Campbell  laid  out  that  part  of  Pittsburgh  bounded  by  Water, 
Second,  Ferry,  and  Market  Streets.  From  this  time  forward  the 
fort  was  the  scene  of  Indian  treaties  rather  than  battles,  and  the 
point  of  departure  for  various  expeditions  against  the  hostile 
tribes.  The  growth  of  the  incipient  town  was  slow,  and  the 
early  allusions  to  it  are  far  from  being  complimentary  or  pro- 
phetic of  the  greatness  which  it  has  attained ;  indeed,  its  inhab- 
itants were  spoken  of  in  1766  as  living  in  "  some  kind  of  a  town 


194  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

without  the  fort ;"  and  in  1770  the  log  houses  are  said  by  Colonel 
Washington  to  be  about  twenty  in  number,  and  inhabited  by  In- 
dian traders.  The  ramparts  of  the  fort  were  still  standing  in 
1796;  but  in  the  meantime  another  smaller  fortification  had  been 
erected  by  Major  Isaac  Craig,  called  Fort  I^a  Fayette. 

The  survey  of  the  "Manor  of  Pittsburgh"  was  authorized 
on  January  5,  1769,  and  the  lands  embraced  within  it  were 
five  thousand  nine  hundred  and  sixty-six  acres.  In  the  fall  of 
1783,  the  two  proprietors,  J.  Penn  and  J.  Penn,  Jr.,  determined 
to  sell  tracts  to  the  "Manor,"  and  in  January,  1784,  the  first 
sale  of  lands  within  the  boundaries  of  Pittsburgh  was  made  to 
Isaac  Craig  and  Stephen  Bayard.  LrOts  were  quickly  sold,  and 
the  era  of  development  began.  In  Niles'  Register,  the  town  is 
reported  to  have,  in  1786,  thirty-six  log  houses,  and  one  stone 
and  one  frame  house,  making  a  population  of  three  hundred 
and  eighty,  leaving,  of  course,  the  garrison  of  the  fort  out  of 
consideration.  In  1788,  Dr.  Hildreth  says:  "Pittsburgh  then 
contained  four  hundred  or  five  hundred  inhabitants,  several  re- 
tail stores,  and  a  single  garrison  of  troops  in  old  Fort  Pitt.  To 
our  travelers  (the  pioneers  of  the  multitude  that  afterwards 
passed  through  the  gateway  of  the  'Beautiful  River'),  who 
had  lately  seen  nothing  but  trees  and  rocks,  with  here  and 
there  a  solitary  hut,  it  seemed  to  be  quite  a  large  town.  The 
houses  were  chiefly  built  of  logs,  but  now  and  then  one  had  as- 
sumed the  appearance  of  neatness  and  comfort." 

In  1796  the  borough  contained  1,395  people;  of  these,  a  few 
years  later,  Mr.  Neville  B.  Craig  could  only  enumerate  one 
hundred  and  two  houses  standing  in  the  Pittsburgh  of  1796.  The 
city,  incorporated  March  18,  1816,  attained  a  population  in 
1820  of  7,248,  and  from  that  time  onward  the  decades  of  its 


LOOKING  UP  KIvK  CKKliK. 
(CHARLESTON,  W.  VA.) 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  195 

growth  have  been  as  follows:  In  1830,  12,568;  in  1840,  21,115; 
in  1850,  46,616;  in  i860,  49,217;  in  1870,  89,076;  in  18S0,  156,- 
381 ;  in  1890,  238,473  ;  and  during  this  time  the  city  of  Alle- 
gheny grew  apace  with  Pittsburgh,  separated  from  it  by  the 
Allegheny  River.  So  in  the  brief  interval — measuring  time  by 
history — of  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  years,  peace  has  suc- 
ceeded war.  Now  the  battle  of  industry  is  being  incessantly 
fought,  and  with  greater  success  than  the  former  ones,  though 
filling  the  air  with  smoke  and  steam  instead  of  powder. 

The  Pittsburgh  of  to-day  shows  the  immense  advantages  of 
its  position  in  the  leading  iron  and  steel  producing  county 
of  the  United  States,  that  of  Allegheny.  Well  named  the 
"  Gateway  of  the  West."  its  situation  in  respect  of  water 
interests,  at  the  fork  formed  by  the  Allegheny  and  the  Monon- 
gahela  Rivers  where  they  meet  and  flow  into  the  Ohio,  gives  it 
a  trade  on  that  river  rivaling  in  extent  and  importance  the  en- 
tire foreign  commerce  of  the  United  States.  So  as  to  make  the 
Allegheny  River  an  extension  of  the  Ohio  for  thirty  miles,  two 
or  three  dams  have  been  constructed,  and  the  vast  aggregation 
of  manufactories  and  work-shops  of  Pittsburgh  and  adjacent 
country,  really  constitute  an  arsenal  for  the  creation  of  war  ma- 
terial of  all  sorts  second  to  no  other  point  in  the  country.  In 
every  war  fought  by  the  United  States,  Pittsburgh  has  been  a  vital 
point  of  supply.  Over  four  thousand  cannons  have  been  man- 
ufactured here  for  the  use  of  the  Government,  many  of  them  of 
the  heaviest  caliber  known  at  the  time. 

From  the  date  of  the  construction  of  the  "  New  Orleans,"  in 
181 1,  until  the  present  time,  steamboat-building  has  been  a  lead- 
ing feature  of  its  industries,  and  one  steamer  per  week  was 
turned  out   from  the  shops  and  boat-yards   for  a  quarter  of  a 


196  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

century,  beginning  with  the  year  1842.  Also  in  most  of  that 
period,  half  the  steam-fleet  navigating  Western  waters  was  Pitts- 
burgh built,  and  the  progress  made  in  skill  and  science  of  con- 
struction was  largely  drawn  upon  when  the  demands  of  the  war 
required  craft  of  novel  designs  and  purposes.  Incidental  thereto 
was  the  devising  of  steamers  capable  of  towing  coal-boats  and 
barges.  Experience  tempted  the  river  men,  when  once  the  effi- 
cacy of  lashing  boats  together  rigidly,  and  to  the  stern-wheeler's 
front,  was  established,  to  go  on  increasing  the  power  of  engines 
and  steering  apparatus,  so  that  now  Pittsburgh  has  steamers  that 
can  take  twenty  thousand  tons  of  coal  to  market,  a  cargo  greater 
than  the  "  Great  Eastern  "  ever  handled,  and,  what  is  of  far 
more  importance,  the  expense  of  transportation  is  lower  than 
by  any  other  system  of  carrying  in  the  world. 

The  amount  of  coal  shipped  from  here  alone  is  enough  to 
place  Pittsburgh  among  the  leading  ports  of  the  world.  Her 
tonnage  embraces  at  least  four  thousand  one  hundred  barges, 
boats,  and  "  flats,"  and  their  money  value,  added  to  the  steam- 
fleet,  makes  a  total  investment  of  $10,000,000. 

The  commencement  of  the  maunfacture  of  iro7i  in  Western 
Pennsylvania  dates  back  to  the  year  1790,  and  the  pig-iron  in- 
dustry of  Pittsburgh  has  been  highly  successful  in  the  last  quar- 
ter of  a  century.  The  center  of  production  for  the  whole  con- 
tinent now  lies  very  probably  within  the  limits  of  Pittsburgh. 
The  iron  and  steel  trades  have  grown  rapidly  since  the  intro- 
duction of  natural  gas. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  Ohio  Valley  Manufacturer 
will  show  the  importance  of  the  Bessemer  invention  :  "  The 
casting  of  the  great  Bessemer  steel  gun  for  the  United  States 
government    at    the    works    of    the    Pittsburgh    Steel    Casting 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  197 

Company  was  a  success.  Sixteen  thousand  five  hundred  pounds 
of  melted  iron  were  used ;  sixty  men  were  employed  in  the 
operation  one  hour  and  thirty-seven  minutes.  The  great  im- 
portance of  this  experiment  consists  in  the  fact  that  the  gun 
cast  under  this  new  method  will  cost  $3,300,  while  the  built-up 
gun,  under  the  old  method,  would  cost  $22,000. 

These  Bessemer  steel  plants  will  steadily  increase  in  value 
to  the  full  net  profit  to  the  country  of  $100,000,000  a  year, 
not  a  dollar  of  which  goes  out  of  the  country  and  not  a 
dollar  of  which  is  lost.  This  $100,000,000  will  be  distributed 
along  the  lines  of  new  railways,  along  the  sources  of  coke  and 
coal,  with  the  transportation  by  rail  and  steamboat,  and  in  the 
mines,  and  with  their  owners  and  laborers,  and  ten  years  hence 
the  country  will  be  worth  $1,000,000,000  more  for  it." 

No  large  interest  in  which  local  capital  is  concerned  has 
grown  more  rapidly  within  recent  years  than  the  manufacture 
of  Connellsville  coke.  At  the  very  gates  of  Pittsburgh  and 
tributary  to  her  commerce,  are  located  the  interesting  and 
unique  coke-making  regions  of  Western  Pennsylvania.  The  one 
product  of  this  limited  area  is  coke,  a  commercial  fuel  which  is 
sought  for  by  iron  founders  and  smelters  from  I^ake  Cham- 
plain  and  New  York  on  the  east,  to  Salt  Lake  and  Omaha 
on  the  west,  and  from  Canada  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Coke 
is  the  product  of  slow  combustion  applied  to  the  soft  bitu- 
minous coal  of  the  region. 

This  coal  is  a  well-defined  portion  of  the  "Pittsburgh  coal- 
basin,"  the  vein  varying  in  thickness  from  8  to  11  feet,  and 
worked  at  all  depths  below  the  surface  of  the  ground  down  to 
300  feet.  The  entire  deposit  of  coal  lies  to  the  south-east  of 
Pittsburgh,  and  varies  in  width  from  two  to  twelve  miles,  with 


198  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

a  length  of  about  forty  miles.  Mining  engineers  have  explored 
every  coal-bearing  region  of  the  country  for  a  coal  identical  with 
Pittsburgh's  Connellsville  coking  coal.  Though  its  discovery 
would  be  worth   untold  millions,  their   efforts  have   been  vain. 

Glass  making  is,  perhaps,  Pittsburgh's  oldest  industry,  and  has 
grown  to  be  of  prime  importance  in  her  general  industrial  ac- 
count. It  was  established  here  in  1795,  among  the  first  in  the 
country,  and  was,  in  addition,  remarkable  in  that  it  was  the  first 
also  in  the  United  States  in  the  use  of  coal  as  fuel.  There  are 
now  in  operation  in  the  district  a  large  number  of  glass  fac- 
tories of  all  classes,  including  several  for  the  manufacture  of 
plate-glass.  Many  millions  of  glass  bottles  and  flasks  are  pro- 
duced annually,  including  a  large  proportion  of  the  flint-glass 
prescription  bottles  used  by  the  physicians  of  the  country. 
Pittsburgh  also  supplies  most  of  the  lamp-chimneys  used  in  the 
United  States. 

The  recent  substitution  of  natural  gas  for  coal  in  all  the  pro- 
cesses of  glass-making  has  had  a  beneficial  effect,  which  can  not 
be  estimated.  Because  of  its  purity  and  freedom  from  sulphur, 
the  glass  produced  with  it  is  better  in  every  way,  perfectly  free 
from  flaw  or  speck,  and  adding  to  the  attractiveness  of  the  table 
by  the  peculiar  brilliancy  and  beauty  of  the  pressed  ware.  With 
natural  gas  the  finest  plate-glass  in  the  world  is  produced,  and  that 
of  Pittsburgh  is  rapidly  superseding  all  others  in  our  American 
markets.  Formerly  it  was  difficult  to  sell  plate-glass  of  Amer- 
ican manufacture,  and  it  was  necessary  to  counterfeit  the  stamps 
of  foreign  manufacturers  in  order  to  procure  a  sale  for  it.  The 
superiority  of  the  home-made  plate-glass  is  now  acknowledged, 
thanks  to  natural  gas,  and  the  factories  are  unable  to  keep  up 
with  the  demand,  though  running  to  their  full  capacity. 

The  chief  industries  of  Pittsburgh,    glass,    iron,  and  steel. 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  199 

speak  for  themselves.  Skilled  artisans  can  easily  find  employ- 
ment here  for  almost  every  specialty  now  turned  out  in  the  Old 
World,  and  the  growing  and  wide-spread  desire  for  fine  goods 
all  over  the  great  West  and  the  reviving  South,  are  important 
elements  in  the  calculation  of  those  who  consider  the  fact 
that  these  regions  have  for  years  been  in  the  habit  of  looking  to 
Pittsburgh  for  their  glass-ware.  Where  the  window-glass  for  a 
quarter  of  a  million  of  houses  is  made ;  where  ninety  millions 
of  bottles  and  vials,  twelve  millions  of  tumblers,  and  forty  mill- 
ions of  lamp-chimneys  are  manufactured  every  year,  there  is  also 
the  place  for  the  production  of  colored  and  cut  glasses  to  rival 
Murano,  Belgium,  and  Bohemia. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  show  the  importance  of  Pittsburgh 
as  the  first  in  the  list  of  cities  and  towns  on  the  Ohio  River  in 
respect  of  wealth  and  progress  as  well  as  situation.  The  city 
itself,  with  its  well-planned  streets,  is  interesting  from  its  never- 
ceasing  life  and  bustle.  Nothing  could  be  more  fascinating,  even 
to  an  amateur,  than  a  visit  to  its  colossal  steel-works,  from  the 
great  "  puddling  "  process  to  which  the  iron  is  exposed  to  when 
it  lies  finished  the  most  beautiful  steel  for  every  possible  pur- 
pose, all  by  the  aid  of  natural  gas ;  the  Bessemer  Steel  Works, 
with  the  wonderful  invention  of  which  so  much  has  been  said 
and  written,  to  the  glass-works,  where  hours  could  be  passed 
watching  the  dexterity  only  acquired  by  the  habits  of  a  life-time 
in  turning  the  formless  mass  of  "spun-glass"  into  articles  of 
every-day  use.  . 

About  five  and  one-half  miles  below  Pittsburgh  is  Davis 
Island,  at  the  foot  of  which  is  located  the  first  movable  dam  on 
the  Ohio  River.  This  work  was  commenced  in  August,  1878, 
and  the  system  decided  upon  was  the-  one  that  has  been  so  suc- 
cessful on  the  Seine,  Yonne,  Marne,  Meuse,  and  other  French 


200  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

rivers,  that  kuown  from  its  inventor  as  the  Chauoine.  Its  com- 
pletion was  celebrated  in  October,  1885.  The  total  cost  of  the 
dam  was  less  than  $900,000. 

The  river  below  Pittsburgh  for  the  next  ten  miles  is  thickly 
settled.  Passing  Glendale,  Haysville,  and  Sewickley,  through 
most  luxurious  vegetation,  Economy  Village,  hedged  in  by  the 
rounded  contours  of  the  hills,  is  reached.  This  is  the  third 
home  of  the  Harmony  Society,  who  emigrated  to  this  country 
in  1803  from  South  Germany,  followers  of  George  Rapp,  the 
founder  of  this  communistic  societ}^  The  members  own  twenty- 
five  hundred  acres  of  the  surrounding  countr>^,  of  w^hich  every 
inch  is  cultivated.  Mr.  Charles  Nordhofi"  gives  an  interesting 
description  of  this  society  in  his  "  Communistic  Societies  of  the 
United  States." 

Another  twenty  miles  bring  us  to  the  enterprising  town  of 
East  Liverpool,  Ohio,  where  several  thousand  men  are  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  porcelain  and  stone  ware.  "  The  veins 
of  fire-clay  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  between  East  Liverpool 
and  Wheeling,  are  extensive  and  inexhaustible,  and  are  proving 
a  rich  source  of  revenue  to  that  section,  and  an  important 
factor  in  the  manufacturing  interests  of  this  valley.  The  busi- 
ness had  a  beginning  in  Hancock  County,  West  Virginia,  fift}^- 
five  years  ago ;  but  it  is  only  quite  recently  that  its  import.ance 
has  attracted  the  attention  of  large  capitalists,  whose  energy  and 
business  tact  are  rapidly  pushing  it  to  the  front  of  American 
industries.  Between  East  Liverpool  and  Wheeling  there  are  a 
number  of  these  works,  most  of  them  very  extensive,  and 
many  new  ones  are  in  contemplation.  All  are  crowded  with 
orders,  and  ship  goods  to  every  section  of  the  country." 

Sixty-seven   miles  below  Pittburgh  we  reach   Steuben\dlle, 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  20l 

Ohio,  the  capital  of  Jefferson  County.  This  is  a  progressive 
and  well-laid-ont  town,  and  wears  its  name  in  honor  of  Baron 
Steuben,  of  Revolutionary  fame,  though  the  fort  first  named  after 
him  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1790.  The  town,  for  a  time,  made 
but  slow  progress,  but  was  incorporated  a  city  in  1851.  The  Ohio 
being  at  all  times  nax-igable  southward  from  Steubenville,  it  is  in 
reality  the  head  of  navigation  the  whole  year  round,  as  during 
freshets  Pittsburgh  and  other  towns  above  are  completely  iso- 
lated. More  tumblers  are  made  here  than  in  any  other  citj'  on 
the  globe,  the  largest  works  turning  out  upwards  of  36,000 
tumblers  per  day.  This  city  can  also  boast  of  the  largest  glass- 
chimney  works  in  the  world,  while,  as  a  place  of  residence,  it 
presents  many  attractions. 

Leaving  Steuben\'ille  the  views  all  along  the  river  are  par- 
tictilarly  beautiful ;  the  distant  hills  make  a  fine  background  for 
the  shining  water  as  it  curves  in  and  out  its  green  banks,  and  at 
a  distance  of  about  thirteen  miles  from  Steubenville,  near  Tilton- 
ville.  an  Indian  mound  is  plainly  ^nsible.* 

Thirty  miles  further  down  we  reach  the  great  bridge  over 
which  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  crosses  from  Ohio  to 
Virginia,  and  at  our  left  lies  the  beautiful  city  of  Wheeling, 
in  West   Virginia.     Wheeling  is  situated  on   an  alluvial  area 

*Of  these  moands  Ohio  alone  contains  11.500.  and-with  the  earth-works,  called  indosores. 
tb«re  are  13.000.  NoChinf;  positive  is  known  as  to  the  race  by  which  these  mounds  were 
\matL,  called  Moond-boilders,  from  the  nature  of  the  traces  they  left  behind  them.  Pre- 
hiilnrir  they  certainly  were,  whether  in  the  sense  of  antedating  the  discovery  of  America 
or  not.  reoiaias  a  qacstioa  that  seeoM  to  admit  of  mnch  discussion.  These  moondsare  dl- 
Tided  by  dificrentarcfaaeolosiits  iato  several  rtanaes,  duef  aaBoog  whicfa  are  the  miKtazy  and 
tbesacred.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these  earth-works  b  Fort  Ancient,  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Little  Miami  River.  33  miles  north-east  of  Cincinnati,  and,  in  fact,  they  abound 
in  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Valleys :  for,  with  no  other  proof  than  the  size  and  nnmber  of  the 
Mowwis,  the  feet  is  csUbUdied  that  the  Moand-boilders  were,  to  a  certain  eztmt,  tillers  of 
tke  aofl,  aad  selected  sites  near  the  rivers,  where  not  only  was  coounnnication  assured,  but 
vcscIsImm  abotmoea. 


202  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

or  isthmus  on  the  east  side  of  the  Ohio  River,  about  96 
miles  below  Pittsburgh,  and  lies  on  both  sides  of  Wheeling 
Creek,  which  empties  into  the  Ohio  River.  The  geographical 
position  of  the  city  combines  the  agricultural  advantages  of  an 
inland  town  with  all  the  sources  of  prosperity  arising  from 
navigable  water-courses  and  great  national  thoroughfares.  It  is 
surrounded  by  bold  and  precipitous  hills,  containing  almost  in- 
exhaustible seams  of  bituminous  coal,  while  its  location  on  a 
high  elevation  of  ground  renders  it  secure  from  inundations  and 
ravages  of  high  water.  It  nestles  like  a  gem  in  its  setting  right 
amid  these  foot-hills  of  the  Appalachian  range,  the  most  famous 
and  richly-endowed  coal-producing  mountain  range  in  the  world. 
Every  one  of  these  foot-hills  or  spurs  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Wheeling  is  rich  in  coal  deposits.  In  fact,  every  county  in  West 
Virginia,  between  the  Ohio  River  and  the  Maryland  and  Virginia 
lines,  is  underlaid  with  coal  in  quantities  and  in  all  desirable  va- 
rieties. Wheeling  is,  in  more  than  one  sense,  the  metropolitan 
center  from  which  the  agencies  which  nourish  and  strengthen 
the  balance  of  the  State  radiate.  She  has  geographical  advan- 
tages and  facilities  which  render  it  possible  for  her  to  become 
one  of  the  notably  progressive  centers  of  the  country. 

Through  an  existence  of  over  a  century,  first  as  an  isolated 
settlement,  far  beyond  the  frontier ;  then  as  a  fort,  for  the  pos- 
session of  which  was  fought  the  last  battle  of  the  Revolution ; 
later  a  trading  village,  whose  position  on  the  Ohio  River  gave 
her  prominence  and  prosperity ;  a  town  on  the  great  National 
Road ;  after  that  ceased  to  be  the  great  thoroughfare  between  the 
East  and  the  West,  a  thriving  city  at  the  western  terminus  of 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad;  and  since  a  growing  community, 
with  increased  facilities   of  communication  with    the  world  at 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  203 

large, — in  this  varied  existence  as  village,  town,  and  city, 
Wheeling  has  steadily  held  her  own  in  the  contest  for  the  sur- 
vival of  the  fittest. 

The  construction  of  the  National  Road  gave  to  her  an  impor- 
tance she  had  not  possessed  before.  Her  position  as  the  point  of 
tranfers  for  the  people  of  the  whole  Western  country,  from  the 
palatial  steamers  which  plied  the  Ohio,  to  the  swinging  stages 
which  climbed  and  descended  the  slopes  of  the  Alleghenies, 
gave  her  advantages  among  towns  of  the  country  envied  by 
many  a  larger  sister.  The  laying  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
track  to  the  river  assured  the  continuance  and  increase  of  those 
advantages,  and  the  city  gradually  changed  from  a  trading  and 
shipping  post  to  a  considerable  manufacturing  and  mercantile 
community,  and  the  little  town  on  the  bluff  spread  out  into  a 
good  city,  with  neighboring  towns  above  and  below  and  across 
the  river.  Gradually  she  assumed  the  position  of  the  metrop- 
olis of  Western  Virginia ;  and  when  from  the  throes  of  civil 
war  a  new  State  was  born,  she  was  its  only  city,  and  she  has 
remained  among  the  increasing  list  of  thriving  towns  of  the 
Mountain  State  in  manufacturing  and  commercial  interests  as 
well  as  population,  far  in  advance  of  all  her  rivals.  She  has  seen 
cities  grow  up  in  her  suburbs  rivaling  in  importance  the  Wheel- 
ing of  less  than  a  generation  ago ;  and  when  her  citizens  look 
back  over  the  record  of  enterprise  and  progress,  increasing 
with  the  years,  no  era  stands  distinct,  in  beginning  or  ending, 
from  the  years  which  preceded  or  those  which  followed;  for 
her  growth  has  been  so  steady  and  so  constant  as  to  be  almost 
imperceptible. 

Her  lanterns,  her  calico,  her  furniture,  are  known  and  used 
far  and  wide.     Her  iron  and  steel  is  fashioned  into  thousands  of 

14 


204  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

shapes,  thousands  of  miles  away.  Her  queensware  from  her 
pottery  has  won  for  the  city  new  laurels  as  a  manufacturing 
center.  Her  leather,  her  calico,  her  iron,  and  glass  and  china 
ware,  have  an  enviable  name  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

Beyond  "  McCulloch's  leap,"  and  beautifully  situated  in  a 
natural  amphitheater,  of  rounded  hills,  is  the  Mount  de  Chantal, 
for  more  than  forty  years  celebrated  as  a  boarding-school,  and 
presided  over  by  the  Sisters  of  the  Visitation.  This  order  was 
founded  three  hundred  years  ago  in  France,  by  the  Baroness 
Jane  de  Chantal,  grandmother  of  Madame  de  Sevigne. 

The  scenery  below  Wheeling  is  thoroughly  typical  of  the 
Ohio  River;  the  rolling  country,  the  rich  land,  bordered  with 
the  tender  green  of  the  river  willows,  hanging  protectingly  over 
the  banks,  while  at  Moundsville,  a  distance  of  ten  and  one-half 
miles,  another  Indian  mound,  planted  here  and  there  with  trees, 
overlooks  the  village.  Further  down  beautiful  and  richly 
cultivated  islands  divide  the  river,  and  one  is  everywhere  passing 
little  villages. 

Marietta,  Ohio,  is  the  next  town  of  any  importance.  It 
has  fine  views  of  the  Ohio  and  Muskingum  Valleys.  Situated 
at  the  junction  of  the  Muskingum  with  the  Ohio  River,  and 
centrally  in  as  valuable  deposits  of  sandstone  as  can  be  found 
in  the  country,  and  in  one  of  the  best  agricultural  counties  in 
the  State,  that  of  Washington,  Marietta  has  many  advantages, 
not  the  least  of  which  are  those  that  make  it  a  shipping  port.* 

•Marietta  has,  as  an  early  and  usefut settlement,  a  certain  historic  importance  ;  but  in 
two  points  she  overestimates  her  claims.  Pittsburgh  was  a  fort  in  the  middle  of  the  century, 
and  a  thriving  village  when  the  expedition  to  Marietta  was  planned.  Geographically  and 
historically,  Pittsburgh  was,  and  is,  the  Gateway  of  the  West  (which  Marietta  claims  to  be 
in  her  centennial  issue).  Marietta  was  settled  by  the  New  England  successors  to  the  title 
of  Virginia  Ohio  Land  Company,  organized  by  the  Lees  and  Washingtons.  The  previous 
battles  of  the  Virginians  and  the  Scotch-Irish  Pennsylvanians,  made  peace  secure,  and  thus 
was  inaugurated  the  advent  of  what  an  early  writer  calls  the  "long-vested,  stiff-collared, 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  205 

Twelve  miles  below  Marietta  lies  the  city  of  Parkersburg, 
first  called  "  The  Point,"  the  second  city  in  size  in  West 
Virginia,  and  the  county-seat  of  Wood,  pleasantly  situated 
on  the  southern  bank  of  the  Ohio,  at  and  above  the  mouth 
of  the  Little  Kanawha  River.  Here,  at  a  cost  of  between 
two  and  three  millions  of  dollars,  an  iron  bridge  has  been 
built  across  the  Ohio  River,  resting  upon  solid  piers  of  stone 
a  hundred  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  stream,  giving  access 
to  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  from  which  a  fine  view  can  be  ob- 
tained of  Parkersburg,  the  Ohio  Valley,  the  beautiful  Island  of 
Blennerhassett,  and  the  heights  of  Fort  Boreman.  In  December, 
1800,  the  survey  of  the  town  of  Parkersburg  was  completed,  the 
streets  of  which  are  made  to  intersect  each  other  at  right  angles, 
running  from  the  Ohio  River  in  a  south-easterly  direction,  and 
from  the  Little  Kanawha  north-east.  This  river  is  a  stream  of 
considerable  importance,  navigable  for  fully  twenty-eight  miles, 
and  now  being  surveyed  so  as  to  be  navigable  for  sixty  miles, 
and,  with  its  lumber,  makes  the  principal  trade  of  Parkersburg, 
which  is  pre-eminently  a  manufacturing  city. 

The  Island  of  Blennerhassett,  situated  in  a  heavy  bend  in 
the  Ohio  River  to  the  west,  a  mile  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Little  Kanawha,  and  in  full  view  of  the  city  of  Parkersburg, 
presents  a  most  attractive  appearance.     The  island  now  contains 


broadcloth-clothed  "  New  Englander.  The  first  white  man  whose  foot  ever  touched  the  soil 
of  the  Ohio  Valley  was  La  Salle,  who  reached  Louisville  in  1667,  and  would  have  proceeded 
to  the  Mississippi,  except  for  the  desertion  of  his  men.  He  was  encamped  on  the  "  Knobs," 
at  New  Albany,  and  made  his  way  back  by  land  to  Lake  Erie  with  the  few  Indians,  who 
were  all  that  remained  of  his  original  large  following.  Thus  Louisville  has  a  certain  and 
established  priority  of  date  over  every  settlement  south-west  of  Pittsburgh,  as  the  town  was 
laid  out  in  1777  by  Thomas  Hullitt ;  but  the  first  settlement  on  the  island  at  the  mouth  of 
"  Bear  Grass  Creek,"  which,  from  its  position,  was  much  more  secure  from  Indian  raids,  was 
made  in  1773.  This  little  fort  was  the  center  where  the  fighting  contingents  were  collected 
whenever  Indians  were  to  be  repulsed,  or  a  raid  oi  reprisal  was  to  be  made  into  their  coui»- 
try,  and  these  dates  certainly  outrank  Marietta. 


2o6  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

about  two  hundred  acres  of  the  best  bottom-land  of.  the  Ohio 
River,  and  one  of  the  best  farms  in  this  country ;  it  is  in  a  goo(3 
state  of  cultivation,  and  possesses  orchards  of  fine  fruits,  and, 
from  its  natural  location  and  advantages,  is  most  valuable. 
Ravenswood,  West  Virginia,  is  passed  near  the  "  Big  Bend  "  of 
the  river,  and  Portland,  Ohio ;  New  Haven,  West  Virginia ;  and 
Mason  City,  and,  opposite,  Pomeroy,  Ohio,  with  its  great  salt- 
works, sixty-three  miles  below  Parkersburg;  then  the  little 
towns  of  Middleport  and  Sheffield.  Another  sixteen  miles, 
and  the  Big  Kanawha  River  empties  into  the  Ohio  at  Point 
Pleasant,  West  Virginia,  the  scene  of  a  memorable  Indian  battle 
in  1774. 

Gallipolis,  laid  out  by  French  settlers  in  1791 ;  Chambers- 
burgh  and  Bladensburgh,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Ohio';  Apple 
Grove  and  Mercerville,  on  the  left;  Millersport,  Haskelville, 
Ohio,  and  Proctorville,  and,  opposite,  Guyandotte,  West  Virginia, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Guyandotte  River ;  and  these,  with  Brad- 
ricksville  and  Frampton,  Ohio,  bring  us  to  Huntington,  West 
Virginia,  a  new  town  below  the  mouth  of  the  Guyandotte 
River.  Catlettsburg,  eight  miles  below  Huntington,  is  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Big  Sandy  River,  which  forms  the  Kentucky 
State  line ;  and  in  Kentucky,  at  a  distance  of  three  miles,  is  the 
pretty  little  town  of  Ashland.  The  site  possesses  great  natural 
advantages,  being  upon  a  broad  plateau,  sufficiently  undulating  to 
afford  good  natural  drainage,  and  having  as  its  entire  front  the 
finest  deep-water  harbor  above  Cincinnati.  The  survey  of  the 
town  provided  beautiful  streets  and  avenues,  those  at  right  angles 
from  the  river  being  eighty  feet  wide,  and  those  parallel  to  it 
being  one  hundred  feet  in  width.  It  was  named  for  the  home 
of  Henry  Clay. 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  207 

Nearly  opposite  Ashland,  on  the  Ohio  side  of  the  river, 
is  the  very  progressive  town  of  Ironton.  The  town  was 
founded  by  the  Lawrence  County  iron-masters  of  forty  years 
ago,  as  a  manufacturing  and  shipping  point  for  their  product. 
The  iron  industry  of  the  county,  starting  with  the  building  of 
Union  Furnace  in  1826,  had  expanded  till,  in  1848,  some  nine 
charcoal-furnaces  were  shipping  from  Hanging  Rock — a  village 
lying  at  the  foot  of  bold,  sandstone  escarpments,  three  miles  be- 
low the  present  site  of  Ironton — a  grade  of  iron  of  such  admit- 
ted superiority  in  Western  markets,  as  to  give  its  name,  the 
name  of  the  village,  to  the  entire  region.  In  1848  and  1849  the 
iron  masters  wisely  organized  two  companies,  the  Iron  Railroad 
Company,  to  build  a  line  tapping  the  furnace  region,  the  Ohio 
Iron  and  Coal  Company,  to  establish  a  town  at  the  railroad's 
river  terminus.  The  real  estate  company  bought  three  hundred 
and  twenty-four  acres,  lying  near  the  center  of  the  broad  bot- 
tom, which  stretched,  some  seven  miles  long,  from  Hanging 
Rock  to  opposite  where  Ashland,  Kentucky,  now  lies,  and  on  it 
in  June,  1849,  laid  out  the  town  of  Ironton,  which  was  incor- 
porated January,  1851,  and  the  same  year  became  the  seat  of 
Lawrence,  now  the  most  populous  county  on  the  Ohio  River 
from  the  Miami  to  the  Muskingum. 

The  scenery  of  the  Ohio  River  is  here  filled  with  striking 
characteristics.  The  hills  are  more  rugged,  and,  passing  the  bold 
ledge  called  Hanging  Rock,  wilder  than  at 'any  other  point, 
while  the  smoke  and  flame  from  a  hundred  chimneys  announce 
the  center  of  a  great  manufacturing  region,  Burke's  Point, 
Wheelersburg,  and  Scioto  Village,  we  reach  Portsmouth,  Ohio, 
twenty-eight  miles  below  Ironton,  one  of  the  most  interesting 
towns  on  the  river,  on  account  of  its  age,  lying  at  the  mouth  of 


2o8  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

the  Scioto  River.  Two  miles  below  Portsmouth  it  is  believed 
that  a  French  fort  existed  as  early  as  1740.  It  is  probably  true 
that  four  families  came  down  the  Ohio  from  the  Redstone  settle- 
ment in  1785,  and  settled  where  Portsmouth  now  stands,  but  were 
driven  away  by  the  Indians.  That  Alexandria  was  built,  flour- 
islied,  and  afterwards  died,  is  a  well-known  historical  fact.  The 
land  on  which  Portsmouth  now  stands  was  partly  cleared,  and  a 
plat  made  for  a  town  in  1803,  but  a  new  plat  was  made  in  1805, 
and  with  that  the  town  really  began.  The  original  proprietor 
of  the  patent  received  from  government,  and  signed  by  John 
Adams,  President,  was  Colonel  Thomas  Parker.  This  patent 
bears  date  of  February,  1798,  and  the  following  year  the  town 
was  laid  out.  It  was  supposed  to  be  an  excellent  location  in  the 
large,  fertile  valley  of  the  Scioto,  which  was  selected  for  its  agri- 
cultural advantages,  but  the  Ohio  and  its  great  floods  were  then 
an  unknown  quantity,  and  it  afterwards  proved  that  the  town 
plat  was  only  fifty  feet  above  low-water  mark,  so  that  an  over- 
flow was  an  annual  certainty.  Alexandria  was  of  some  use  for 
the  short  time  of  its  existence  to  persons  going  to  Maysville  and 
Cincinnati ;  so  some  few  good  buildings  were  erected,  and  one  or 
two  of  these  two-story  stone  houses  were  in  existence  long  after 
the  village  had  been  abandoned. 

Henry  Massie,  whose  brother  laid  out  the  town  of  Chillicothe, 
purchased  in  1802  several  sections  of  lands  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Scioto,  and  in  1803  made  the  plat  of  Portsmouth,  named  for 
Portsmouth,  Virginia,  the  home  of  the  Massies  in  Colonial  days. 
To  get  his  new  town  settled  he  made  several  liberal  offers  to  the 
Alexandrians,  who,  up  to  this  time,  had  preferred  the  west  bank, 
as  the  east  bank  was  but  a  dreary-looking  forest.  A  sudden 
^ood  of  the  Ohio  convinced  them  that  Alexandria  w/^s  not  a  safe 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  209 

place  of  residence,  atid  most  of  the  families  immediately  crossed 
the  river. 

The  death  of  the  old  town  decided  the  prosperity  of  the 
new.  Log  cabins  and  frame  dwellings  were  scattered  over  the 
plat,  a  substantial  hewed  log  house  afterwards  weatherboarded, 
and  most  of  the  business  houses  were  built  on  Front  Street, 
then  called  Ohio  Street;  and  a  few  of  these  old  buildings  still 
remain. 

The  settlers  were  principally  from  Virginia,  West  Virginia, 
and  New  Jersey,  and  in  18 10  the  population  was  between  300 
and  400.  The  first  court-house  was  finished  in  18 16.  "The 
first  steamboat  was  builded  through  a  privilege  given  to  Aaron 
Fuller  by  the  town  council  to  construct  a  steamboat  on  the 
commons  in  front  of  the  town,  in  1829." 

In  this  era  flourished  a  literary  institution  called  the  Frank- 
lin Institute,  which  gave  giant  minds  a  chance  to  expand,  and  in- 
spired the  weaker  ones.  The  first  of  the  young  Ciceros,  in  his 
speech  before  this  assembly,  in  eulogizing  the  merits  of  Wash- 
ington, said :  "  He  fought,  bled,  and  died  for  his  country,  and 
then  retired  to  private  life."  (From  the  History  of  the  Lower 
Scioto  Valley,  by  S.  W.  Cole.) 

Passing  a  number  of  comparatively  small  villages,  we  reach 
Maysville,  Kentucky,  fifty-two  miles  below  Portsmouth,  and  one 
of  the  prosperous  river  towns,  settled  about  the  same  time  as 
Cincinnati.  Then  the  river  banks  become  more  thickly  settled, 
and  the  towns  of  Ripley,  Levanna,  Dover,  Higginsport,  Augusta, 
Chilo,  Neville,  Point  Pleasant,  California,  Palestine,  and  Co- 
lumbia, are  passed  in  rapid  succession,  while  the  hills,  thickly 
studded  with  suburban  homes,  indicate  the  proximity  of  the 
Queen  City,  the  Metropolis  of  the  Ohio  Valley. 


2IO  THE  PICTURESQUE  OH  TO. 

Cincinnati,  to  which  now  is  universally  acceded  the  title 
of  "Queen  City  of  the  West,"  was  first  known  as  Lo- 
santiville — the  village  opposite  the  mouth — I^-os-anti-ville,  more 
really  the  mouth  opposite  the  village ;  so  named  on  account  of 
the  lyicking  River,  on  the  Kentucky  side,  of  which  the  banks 
were  a  favorite  hunting  resort.  Traces  of  occupation  by  an  un- 
known race  were  found  by  the  early  settlers,  notably  a  tablet  on 
this  spot — probably  the  grave  of  a  mound-builder ;  but  the  first 
positive  date  recorded  is  that  of  1780,  when  "  Colonel  George 
Rogers  Clark,  with  an  army  of  about  one  thousand  men,  crossed 
the  Ohio  at  the  mouth  of  the  I^icking,  and  erected  two  block- 
houses, on  the  ist  day  of  August,  upon  the  ground  now  occupied 
by  Cincinnati."  These  served  as  store-houses,  and  in  1785  a 
short  military  settlement  occurred.  In  1779  Captain  RoJ3ert 
Patterson,  one  of  the  most  daring  and  gallant  of  the  early  fron- 
tiersmen, had  built  a  solitary  block-house  where  now  is  the 
center  of  I^exington,  Kentucky;  and  in  the  winter  of  1788-89, 
with  Denman  and  Israel  lyudlow,  he  laid  out  the  town  of  lyosan- 
tiville.  In  September  of  the  same  year,  at  the  instigation  of  the 
officer  in  command,  the  site  of  Fort  V/ashington  was  changed 
from  North  Bend  to  lyosantiville,  which,  after  St.  Clair's  defeat, 
became  the  head-quarters  of  the  North-western  Territory.  By 
the  close  of  1789,  eleven  families  and  twenty- four  unmarried 
men  were  residents  of  the  village;  and  in  1790,  "Cincinnati 
began  to  live,  and  lyosantiville  was  no  more."  In  1800  the  village 
was  composed  of  a  few  frame  and  log  houses,  with  a  population 
of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  inhabitants ;  and  in  1 808  the  fort  was 
condemned  and  ordered  to  be  sold. 

The  Centinel  of  the  North-western  Territory  was  the  first 
newspaper  published  north   of  the   Ohio   River,   in    1793,   and 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  2ii 

already  in  early  days  Cincinnati  stood  pre-eminent  as  the  book 
market  of  the  West,  the  distributing  point  for  the  entire  Valley 
of  the  Mississippi.  The  first  book-store  in  the  city  was  opened 
in  1819. 

In  1 81 2  Fulton  introduced  steamboats  on  the  Ohio,  and  in 
1 8 16  the  first  steamboat  was  built  in  Cincinnati.  With  the 
growth  of  steamboat-building  Cincinnati  at  once  became  the 
center  of  a  vast  commerce,  and  traded  with  the  most  distant 
parts  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  The  number  of  steamboats  built 
in  Cincinnati  amounted  to  one-fifth  of  the  whole  number  built 
in  the  United  States,  and  she  became  the  point  of  receipt  and  dis- 
tribution of  the  immense  surplus  products  of  a  great  region.  To 
this  large  steamboat  commerce  is  also  due  the  fact  that  Cincinnati 
had  for  many  years  a  population  of  prosperous  river-men,  grow- 
ing rich,  year  by  year,  from  the  enormous  river-traffic,  and,  be- 
ginning with  positions  on  the  boats  plying  to  and  fro  on  the 
Ohio,  retired  middle-aged  men,  possessed  of  handsome  fortunes. 

From  "an  early  visit  to  Cincinnati,"  we  learn  that  in  1823 
"  there  were  no  houses  where  Newport  and  Covington  now  are, 
and  the  city  hardly  reached  above  Second  Street,  parallel  with 
the  Ohio  River.  The  principal  buildings  were  on  the  street 
perpendicular  to  the  upper  river  wharf,  on  the  right  of  which 
was  the  hotel.  There  were  few  brick  buildings,  and  on  Second 
and  Third  Streets  the  houses  were  few  and  scattering,  with  small 
yards  in  front. 

The  plan  of  Cincinnati  is  similar  to  that  of  Philadelphia,  and 
the  streets  are  named  in  nearly  the  same  way.  It  is  well  built, 
and  said  to  be  the  most  compact  city  in  the  United  States.  Its 
situation,  on  a  natural  plateau  surrounded  by  an  amphitheater 
of  hills  three  hundred  feet  in  height,  with  Covington  and  New- 


212  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

port,  separated  by  the  Licking  River,  on  its  southern  half,  and 
the  resources  of  the  entire  Ohio  River  at  its  feet,  is  an  enviable 
as  well  as  a  unique  one.  Nowhere  are  there  such  facilities  for 
business,  or  such  sites  for  handsome  residences. 

That  Cincinnati  is  in  great  part  a  home  for  a  large  class  of 
German-speaking  people,  is  evident  from  the  appellation  of 
'*  Over  the  Rhine,"  belonging  to  that  portion  of  the  city  sepa- 
rated from  the  main  part  by  the  Miami  Canal,  and  seemingly  a 
piece  of  the  **  Vaterland"  set  down  in  the  midst  of  one  of  our 
most  progressive  American  cities.  Here,  surrounded  by  a 
home-loving  people,  is  the  great  Music  Hall,  justly  the  pride  of 
the  Queen  City,  with  the  handsome  Exposition  buildings,  due 
also  in  a  degree  to  these  German  citizens,  whose  love  for  music 
demanded  a  proper  hall  in  which  to  hold  their  ''  Sangerfest." 
Over  eight  thousand  people  fill  this  great  auditorium  every  two 
years,  to  hear  the  best  orchestral  and  vocal  music  in  the  world, 
and  in  every  part  of  the  United  States  the  Cincinnati  Musical 
Festivals  are  treats  to  look  forward  to  and  be  proud  of.  In 
this,  the  centennial  year  of  the  Ohio  Valley,  the  city  will  be 
crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity. 

To  make  the  plan  of  Cincinnati  definite,  to  turn  back  for  a 
moment  that  we  may  present  it  as  it  is  to  eyes  that  have  never 
seen  it,  is  a  difficult  problem  to  work  out  in  a  necessarily  lim- 
ited space,  where  words  are  used  to  construct  a  sketch  which 
appeals  to  the  mind's  vision.  Yet  to  leave  this  unattempted 
would  be  unjust  to  the  Cincinnati  which  crowns  the  chain  of 
hills  encircling  the  city  proper;  for  in  these  linked  heights  we 
find  a  singularly  perfect  exhibit  of  the  peculiar  characteristics 
which   define   and  illustrate  the  RivER. 

From  where  Mt.  Adams  juts  out  into  the  broken  cliffs  which 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  213 

edge  the  river  and  overlook  the  crescent-shaped  valley  and 
the  distant  hills  inclosing  the  twin  cities  that  lie  along  the  curv- 
ing edge  of  the  Kentucky  shore,  and  from  where  its  rugged 
flanks  push  backward  into  the  chain,  a  continuous  succession  of 
swelling  ridges  environ  the  Cincinnati  of  trade,  which  is  half 
hidden  in  the  dense  smoke  that  shrouds  its  countless  indus- 
tries. This  sweep  of  the  circling  heights  goes  backward  and 
onward,  broken  only  by  the  deep  and  narrow  valley  of  Deer 
Creek,  and  the  wider  valley  of  Mill  Creek,  which  divides  the 
steeps  of  Clifton  from  the  bold  escarpment  of  Price  Hill,  where 
the  chain  once  more  touches  the  river.  This  environment  of 
hills  for  many  years  formed  a  barrier  to  the  city's  growth  on 
the  eastern,  northern,  and  western  sides.  Villages  aild  farm- 
houses found  place  here  and  there  upon  the  summits,  and  vine- 
yards covered  the  slopes  that  were  not  too  steep  to  till.  As  soon 
as  the  advantages  of  their  higher  situation  began  to  be  appreciated, 
their  growth  increased  with  the  multiplied  and  improved  modes 
of  travel  to  and  from  the  city.  The  ravines  which  formed  di- 
viding lines  have  been  filled  up  or  bridged  over,  and  the  village 
names  now  serve  to  denote  different  localities  of  a  breezy  hill- 
top city  of  homes.  To-day  the  inclined-planes  and  cable  and 
electric  railways  carry  many  thousands  of  people  up  the  heights, 
and  the  quondam  rural  villages  are  now  the  crown-jewels  of  the 
Queen  City. 

Beginning  with  the  first  point  in  the  eastern  chain  of  hills 
just  sketched  in  outline,  we  return  to  Mt.  Adams.  This  was 
the  site  of  the  first  Cincinnati  Observatory,  and  here,  in  1843, 
the  corner-stone  of  that  building  was  laid  by  ex-President  John 
Quincy  Adams.  The  observatory  was  managed  by  the  Cincinnati 
Astronomical  Society  until  1872,  when  it  became  a  department 


214  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

of  the  Cincinnati  University,  and  was  removed  to  its  new  build- 
ing on  Mt.  Lookout. 

From  Mt.  Adams,  through  Eden  Park,  where  are  the  Art 
Museum  and  Art  School  buildings,  substantially  built  of  stone, 
we  come  to  the  residence  portion  of  Wai^nut  Hii^IvS.  The  Rev. 
James  Kemper,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  who,  in  1791,  descended 
the  river  in  a  flat-boat,  settled  on  the  bold  uplands  north-east  of 
the  village  of  Cincinnati,  and  built  a  strong  block-house,  which 
was  the  only  secure  parsonage  at  that  date. 

The  quaint  old  residence,  remodeled  from  the  original  struc- 
ture, still  stands,  but  the  lane,  which  once  led  down  the  hill,  is 
now  a  well-paved  street,  lined  with  comfortable  homes,  and  the 
Kemper  lands  are  covered  with  a  populous  part  of  the  suburban 
city,  which  still  recalls,  in  name,  its  groves  of  native  growth. 

Wai^nut  H11.1.S  is  called  the  "  Suburb  of  Churches,"  from 
the  number  and  elegance  of  these  edifices.  This  locality  is  the 
site  of  well-known  rural  homes,  set  in  beautiful  parks,  where 
the  changing  vistas  give  charming  river  views. 

AVONDAI.E,  which  adjoins  Clifton  and  Walnut  Hills,  was 
until  recently  a  model  village,  with  its  town  hall  and  village 
school,  its  country  roads  and  its  shady  lanes.  Now  the  cable, 
electric,  and  steam  railways  seem  to  bring  it  much  nearer  the 
city ;  new  streets  are  opening  in  all  directions,  and  the  work 
of  building  is  busily  going  on. 

Mt.  Auburn,  formerly  called  Keys's  Hill,  was  early  popular 
as  a  place  of  residence,  and  is  now  more  closely  built  up  than 
the  other  hill-top  suburbs.  The  Cincinnati  Orphan  Asylum  and 
the  German  Protestant  Orphan  Asylum  are  both  situated  here, 
and,  like  Walnut  Hills  and  Avondale,  Mt.  Auburn  boasts  the  pres- 
ence of  excellent  educational  institutions,  both  public  and  private. 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  215 

Clifton  surpasses  all  the  other  suburbs  in  the  number  and 
elegance  of  its  residences  and  the  beauty  of  its  streets.  Like 
Avondale,  it  is  a  separate  incorporated  village,  and  its  citizens 
and  municipality  take  pride  in  working  for  its  welfare  and  im- 
provement. No  shops  or  factories  are  found  within  its  limits, 
and  the  twenty  miles  of  tree-lined  avenues  which  wend  their 
way  between  the  spacious  private  estates,  unmarred  by  fence  or 
boundary- wall,  unite  to  form  a  vast  cultivated  park.  Clifton 
has  a  handsome  town  hall  and  public-school  building,  known 
as  "  Resor  Academy "  in  front  of  whic^i  stands  the  beautiful 
fountain,  the  recent  gift  of  Mr.  Henry  Probasco. 

Burnet  Woods  Park,  the  old  beech-forest,  wliose  natural 
beauty  has  not  been  marred  by  artificial  means,  stands  on  the 
southern  boundary  of  Clifton.  Near  it  is  the  Zoological  Garden, 
which  contains  over  sixty  acres  of  beautiful  park,  substantial 
buildings,  and  a  fine  collection  of  four-footed  wild  animals,  birds, 
and  reptiles,  which  is  well  worth  seeing. 

To  the  west  of  the  city,  and  across  Mill  Creek,  whose  valley 
separates  it  from  the  northern  hills,  another  ridge  rises  precipi- 
tously  to  the  height  of  four  hundred  feet  above  the  river-bed. 
Its  summit,  which  is  known  as  Price  Hill,  is  reached  by  an  in- 
clined-plane railway  and  by  the  winding  Warsaw  pike.  Here 
again  are  magnificent  views  of  the  city,  river,  and  surrounding 
country.  Price  Hill  has  many  handsome  residences,  comfort- 
able homes,  and  numerous  churches  and  schools. 

On  the  Kentucky  shore,  opposite  Price  Hill,  the  highlands 
that  inclose  Covington  and  Newport  fall  in  broken  hill-ter- 
races to  the  river;  for  at  Ludlow  is  the  south-east  end  of  the 
encircling  ridge,  which  crosses  the  Licking  and  sweeps  around 
the  wide  extent  of  lowlands  upon  which  the  river  plats  of  the 


2i6  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

Kentucky  towns  were  originally  made.  But  the  twin  cities 
have  broken  their  old  boundaries.  Houses  are  scattered  in 
neighborly  groups  along  the  choice  spots  of  the  beautiful  Cov- 
ington highlands,  and  Newport  has  its  secluded  mansions  that 
look  down  upon  the  Ohio  River. 

Above  and  below  the  cities  the  river  on  each  side  is  lined  with 
growing  colonies  of  prosperous  village  suburbs,  into  which  street 
railways  are  venturing,  and  thus  the  city  links  are  being  welded. 

Several  bridges  cross  the  Ohio  here.  The  suspension  bridge, 
connecting  Cincinnati  with  Covington,  is  a  magnificent  struc- 
ture, erected  at  a  cost  of  $1,800,000,  and  was  opened  in  1867. 

As  a  work  of  art  the  bronze  fountain,  which  has  given  its 
name  to  the  square  in  the  center  of  Cincinnati,  stands  among 
the  finest  in  the  United  States,  and  was  presented  to  the  people 
in  1 87 1  by  Mr.  Henry  Probasco,  as  a  memorial  of  his  brother-in- 
law,  the  late  Mr.  Tyler  Davidson.  The  bronze  work  is  cast  from 
cannon  purchased  of  the  Danish  government;  but  the  figures 
are  in  themselves  a  study,  symbolizing  the  uses  and  blessings  of 
water,  by  August  von  Kreling,  the  son-in-law  of  Kaulbach,  and 
were  carefully  carried  out  in  every  detail  by  Herr  von  Miiller, 
of  Munich,  Bavaria. 

The  Public  L<ibrary,  a  handsome  building  on  Vine  Street, 
between  Sixth  and  Seventh  Streets,  contains  about  seventy-two 
thousand  volumes,  and  has  been  open  to  the  public  since 
1874.  The  new  Chamber  of  Commerce  building,  at  Fourth  and 
Vine  Streets,  is  the  work  of  the  well-known  architect,  Rich- 
ardson, and  promises  to  take  the  first  place  among  the  city's 
handsome  buildings,  though  the  post-office  and  government 
offices  occupy  a  very  imposing  one  on  Fountain  Square,  and 
most  of  the  club-houses  show  remarkable  architectural  taste. 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  217 

It  is  impossible  in  this  short  summary  of  Cincinnati  to  do 
justice  to  the  city,  its  well-kept  streets  and  watchful  municipal 
government,  and  its  progress  in  every  particular.  Its  street-car 
system  and  fire  department  can  not  be  excelled  in  any  city  in 
the  United  States ;  it  contains  many  handsome  churches,  and  is 
foremost  in  public  charities;  its  educational  facilities,  in  all 
branches  of  art  and  science,  are  unlimited. 

In  all  mention  of  Cincinnati,  its  suburbs  and  the  Kentucky 
cities  of  Covington  and  Newport  are  included,  for  though  both 
of  these  cities  across  the  river  have  important  iron  interests, 
and  together  about  seventy  thousand  inhabitants,  yet  it  is  easy  to 
see  that  the  prosperity  of  the  Queen  City  is  theirs  also,  and 
that  their  fortunes  are  indissolubly  connected. 

A  peculiarity  of  the  Kentucky  shore  below  Cincinnati  is  the 
curious  composite  rock  formation,  apparently  washed  here  and 
there  into  hollows  by  the  water.  The  Big  Miami  River  empties 
into  the  Ohio  nineteen  miles  below  Cincinnati,  between  the 
States  of  Indiana  and  Ohio,  and  a  short  distance  from  the  city  of 
Lawrenceburg,  Indiana,  situated  on  what  is  known  as  the 
high  bottom-lands,  and  an  important  manufacturing  center. 
Lawrenceburg  is  a  well-built  town,  supplied  with  a  levee  suffi- 
cient to  preserve  it  from  the  highest  floods. 

A  little  farther  down  we  pass  Aurora,  a  growing  city.  Then 
several  small  ports,  including  CarroUton,  Kentucky,  one  of  the 
oldest  settlements ;  Preston,  Milton ;  and,  on  the  right  bank, 
Madison,  Indiana,  beautifully  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  fertile 
valley.  Bethlehem,  Westport,  Herculaneum,  and  Utica  are 
passed  in  turn  before  reaching  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  and  the 
beautiful  city  stretching  along  the  shore.  The  unusual  im- 
portance of  a  location  at  the  "  Falls  of  the  Ohio  "  was  seized 

15 


2i8  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

upon  with  a  prophetic  instinct  by  a  small  company  of  adven- 
turous volunteers,  who  landed  at  the  mouth  of  Bear  Grass  Creek 
on  July  8,  1773,  and  these  few  men  were  the  first  elements  of 
population,  where  to-day  there  is  a  great  and  wealthy  city. 
Captain  Bullitt,  the  head  of  this  small  company,  laid  out  a  town 
site,  and  the  year  following  built  a  house ;  but  it  was  not  until 
three  years  later  that  the  State  of  Kentucky  was  created  a  sov- 
ereign State.  Gratitude  to  the  French  king,  Louis  XVI,  for 
declaring  agaifist  England  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  sug- 
gested the  name  of  Ivouisville,  and  there  were  probably  nearly 
1,000  inhabitants  here  and  in  the  immediate  vicinity  in  1800. 
When  the  town  was  founded,  the  enormous  value  of  a  canal  around 
the  Falls  had  been  considered;  for  it  is  certain  that  a  map  of  the 
town,  drawn  in  1793,  presented  the  projected  canal  virtually  as  it 
was  built  thirty-seven  years  later.  If  a  history  of  the  people  of 
Louisville  were  written,  it  would  comprise  three  distinct  periods. 
The  first  would  be  the  pioneer  period ;  the  second  the  building 
of  the  canal;  and  the  third  period  "would  comprise  that  of  the 
organic  change  after  the  war,  when  the  building  of  railroads,  the 
abolition  of  slavery,  and  the  development  of  agriculture  in  the 
new  North-west  temporarily  endangered  the  future  of  the  city." 
The  opening  of  new  lines  of  railroads,  and  her  connection 
with  thirty-two  navigable  rivers,  brings  the  Eastern  coal-field, 
which  covers  one-fourth  of  the  State's  area,  so  near  Louisville 
that  it  has  had  the  effect  of  making  coal  for  fuel  cheaper  here 
than  anywhere  else  in  the  country.  Coexistent  with  these  coal- 
fields are  forests  of  the  finest  timber  known  to  the  market.  The 
virgin  forest  of  Eastern  Kentucky  covers  ten  thousand  square 
miles,  and  the  Southern  and  Western  forests  are  equally  val- 
uable and   extensive.     Louisville  is  now  the  best  and  cheapest 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  219 

hard-wood  lumber  market  in  the  world,   and  in  addition  is  the 
natural  gateway  to  the  celebrated  Blue  Grass  region. 

An  account  of  the  city  of  Louisville,  however  short,  would 
be  incomplete  without  at  least  a  mention  of  its  beautiful  Pub- 
lic Library,  containing  more  than  40,000  volumes,  its  educa- 
tional institutions,  and  its  numerous  public  and  religious  chari- 
ties. There  are  four  well-known  medical  institutions,  the 
Kentucky  Institutions  for  the  white  and  colored  blind,  with  the 
government  printing  establishment  for  the  blind  attached,  and 
the  Southern  Baptist  Theological  Seminary.  The  public  alms- 
house cost  $210,000;  and  a  unique  charity  is  the  Masonic  Wid- 
ows' and  Orphans'  Home,  the  single  charity  of  the  kind  in  the 
United  States,  and  celebrated  all  over  the  world  among  Masons. 

Louisville  has  six  hospitals,  eleven  orphanages,  two  homes 
for  friendless  women,  a  home  for  old  ladies,  and  a  central  organ- 
ized charity  association;  also  the  best  training-school  for  nurses 
in  the  country,  with  every  facility  and  all  expenses  paid. 

The  city  is  also  justly  celebrated  for  its  beautiful  churches  and 
Cave  Hill  Cemetery,  of  which  the  location  is  unrivaled. 

Main  Street  still  contains  evidences  of  the  original  character 
of  the  city  in  some  of  the  old  business  houses,  and  the  river 
front,  now  in  a  continual  turmoil  of  business  and  traffic,  is  the 
oldest  quarter. 

From  the  wharves  three  bridges  span  the  Ohio,  connecting 
with  Louisville  the  cities  of  New  Albany  and  Jeflfersonville, 
Indiana,  and  opening  the  way  for  northern  travel  and  traffic  to 
the  farther  South  through  this  thriving  city.  The  one  called 
the  "Short  Route,"  crossing  the  river  below  the  Falls,  con- 
nects the  suburb  of  Portland  with  New  Albany,  Indiana,  and 
is  considered  an  engineering  marvel.     "  Its  lower  end  connects 


220  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

with  the  Kentucky  and  Indiana  steel  cantilever  bridge.  This 
beautiful  structure,  which  cost  $1,500,000,  was  "begun  in  1882, 
and  completed  in  1886.  Its  length  is  2,453  ^^et,  exclusive  of  the 
approaches,  which,  on  the  Kentucky  side,  are  very  picturesque 
and  extensive.  There  are  9  piers,  7  of  which  are  of  limestone 
masonry,  and  2  are  cone-shaped  iron  cylinders,  made  of  boiler- 
iron  five-eighths  of  an  inch  thick,  resting  upon  the  bed-rock, 
and  fitted  with  brick  and  concrete.  The  average  height  of  the 
piers  is  170  feet.  The  masonry  of  these  piers  is  regarded  by 
engineers  as  the  most  handsome  and  substantial  ever  placed  in 
position  for  a  bridge  on  the  continent.  The  aggregate  masonry 
contains  13,600  cubic  yards  of  stone.  The  length  of  approaches 
on  the  Indiana  side  is  781  feet,  and  on  the  Kentucky  side  3,990 
feet.  The  bridge  contains  2,414,261  pounds  of  steel  and  3,625,000 
pounds  of  wrought  iron.  It  affords  accommodation  for  railway, 
carriage,  street-car,  and  foot  traffic. 

New  Albany  and  Jeffersonville  are  practically  a  part  of  Louis- 
ville. New  Albany  is  the  county-seat  of  Floyd  County.  It  is  lo- 
cated in  the  center  of  the  Ohio  valley,  three  miles  below  the  Falls 
of  the  Ohio  River,  opposite  the  city  of  Louisville,  Kentucky,  in 
latitude  38°  18'  north,  and  longitude  8°  49'  west.  It  is  laid  out 
upon  an  elevated  plateau,  upon  two  benches  or  plains,  one  twenty 
feet  higher  than  the  other,  and  sweeping  northward  and  west- 
ward to  a  range  of  hills,  that  bear  from  the  Indians  the  poetic 
name  of  the  "  Silver  Hills,"  and  which  are  from  three  hundred  to 
five  hundred  feet  in  height.  These  hills,  in  the  vicintity  of  the 
city,  are  being  covered  with  charming  suburban  residences,  many 
of  them  of  beautiful  architecture  in  design  and  adornment.  The 
city  was  laid  out  in  181 3  by  Joel,  Abner,  and  Nathaniel  Scribner, 
tne  original  plat   embracing  but  eight  hundred  and  twenty-six 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  221 

acres,  the  land  being  entered  at  the  government  land-office  at  Vin- 
cennes,  when  that  town  was  the  capital  of  the  Territory  of  Indiana, 
and  purchased  by  the  Scribners.  The  lots  were  disposed  of  by 
public  auction  on  the  first  Tuesday  and  Wednesday  of  November, 
18 1 3,  and  the  proprietors  of  the  town  stipulated  that  "one-fourth 
part  of  each  payment  upon  lots  sold  shall  be  paid  into  the  hands 
of  trustees,  to  be  chosen  by  the  purchasers,  until  such  payments 
shall  amount  to  $5,000,  the  interest  of  which  is  to  be  applied  to 
the  support  of  schools  in  the  town  for  the  use  of  its  inhabitants 
forever."  New  Albany  was  incorporated  as  a  city  in  July,  1839, 
having  a  population  of  four  thousand  two  hundred. 

From  the  river,  Louisville,  with  its  pretty  suburbs,  Park- 
land, Clifton,  "The  Highlands,"  Anchorage,  and  Pewee  Valley, 
makes  a  striking  picture,  supplemented  •by  the  famous  Indiana 
••  Knobs,"  which  cross  the  Ohio  below  New  Albany. 

Clarksville,  Indiana,  evidently  the  site  of  an  Indian  village, 
and  Shippenport,  Kentucky  (Shippingport),  incorporated  in 
1785  as  Campbelltown,  are  both  swallowed  up  in  the  growth  of 
Louisville,  and  long  ago  incorporated  with  the  city.  Shippen- 
port in  18 15  was  made  of  importance  by  the  French,  who  erected 
there  an  enormous  flouring-mill,  which  now  stands,  converted 
into  a  cement-factory. 

The  Louisville  and  Portland  Canal  "was  opened  in  183 1,  and 
was  the  first  great  engineering  work  in  the  United  States ;  it 
proved  eventually  too  small  to  accommodate  all  the  craft  on 
the  Ohio,  and  the  work  of  deepening  and  widening  it  was  begun 
in  i860.  The  improvement  was  continued  through  the  war  up 
to  1866,  when  it  ceased  for  lack  of  appropriations.  In  1868 
Congress  voted  $300,000  for  resuming  the  abandoned  work,  and 
followed  it  by   $300,000  more   in  1869,   and  $300,000  in   1871, 


222  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

and  gave  $100,000  in  1873.  Having  thus  expended  such  large 
sums,  the  next  natural  step  was  for  the  government  to  assume 
entire  charge  of  the  canal,  which  was  accomplished  in  1874  by 
the  United  States  assuming  the  payment  of  outstanding  bonds. 
Krom  the  date  of  the  transfer,  all  forms  of  toll  charges  were 
abolished,  and  to  this  fact  the  waning  powers  of  river  transpor- 
tation owe  whatever  vitality  remains  at  the  present  time. 

"Under  government  auspices  and  direction  the  task  of  com- 
pleting the  enlargement  of  the  canal  has  not  only  been  carried 
to  completion,  but  a  new  project  is  now  under  way  to  successful 
accomplishment  by  which  a  secure  and  ample  harbor  will  be 
afiforded  against  the  perils  of  moving  ice  in  the  colder  seasons, 
for  those  large  fleets  of  coal-tows  that  arrive  from  Pittsburgh 
with  high  stages  of  water.  All  the  property  is  under  respon- 
sible supervision  by  officers  of  the  government,  and  the  canal 
proper,  with  the  improvements  projected,  will  long  remain  as 
sightly  memorials  of  a  government  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
inter-State  commerce." 

Below  the  Falls,  near  the  village  of  Clarksville,  there  is  a 
strong  whirlpool  through  which,  however,  steamers  can  pass 
without  danger.  Perhaps  the  Ohio  River  is  more  beautiful  at 
this  point  than  anywhere  from  Pittsburgh  to  Cairo,  broken  at 
every  mile  with  small  islands,  and  on  both  sides  shut  in  by 
long  ranges  of  hills  changing  in  shape  with  every  turn  and 
bend  of  the  rippling  water.  The  small  towns  of  West  Point  and 
Brandenburg,  Kentucky,  and  Mauckport  and  lycaven worth, 
Indiana,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Wyandot  Cave,  may  be  men- 
tioned ;  then  Alton,  Indiana ;  Concordia,  Kentucky ;  Rome,  In- 
diana; and  Stephensport,  with  Hawesville,  Kentucky,  opposite 
Cannelton,   where   there   is   drab   and   reddish   sandstone,  that 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  223 

is  useful  for  subterranean  and  subaqueous  work,  such  as  foun- 
dation walls  and  bridge  piers  and  abutments ;  and  Tell  City, 
Indiana ;  Lewisport,  Kentucky ;  Grand  View  and  Rockport, 
Indiana;  and  149  miles  below  Louisville  is  Owensboro,  Ken- 
tucky, the  county-seat  of  Daviess  County. 

One  hundred  and  eighty-three  miles  below  Louisville  we 
reach  Evansville,  Indiana,  situated  on  a  high  bluff,  always 
above  high-water  mark.  It  is  also  situated  at  the  head  of 
low-water  navigation,  midway  between  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio 
and  its  mouth.  It  is  nine  miles  below  the  mouth  of  Green 
River,  which  drains  that  marvelously  rich  valley ;  40  miles  above 
the  Wabash  River,  a  noble  tributary  of  the  Ohio,  flowing  through 
the  most  fruitful  grain-producing  country  in  the  West ;  it  is  140 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Cumberland,  and  150  miles  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee,  the  two  magnificent  streams  that 
form  the  water-way  of  the  iron  and  coal  regions  of  Tennessee 
and  Alabama. 

Evansville  is  now,  and  has  always  been,  the  entrep6t  for  all 
these  rivers,  her  steamboat  lines  having  g^own  in  number  and 
wealth  until  they  have  practically  a  monopoly  of  the  entire  car- 
rying trade  of  these  streams. 

Evansville  was  named  for  General  Robert  M.  Evans,  born  in 
Virginia  in  1783,  and  died  in  1844.  He  was  an  aid-de-camp  of 
General  Harrison,  and  led  a  portion  of  his  brigade  in  the  famous 
battle  of  Tippecanoe.  Its  large  temperance  hall  was  built  mainly 
at  the  suggestion  of  his  daughter-in-law,  Mrs.  Selita  Evans,  in 
the  town  that  bears  his  name. 

A  mile  below  Evansville  is  Lamasco,  and  twelve  miles  below  is 
Henderson,  Kentucky,  which  is  said  to  be  the  richest  town 
of  its  size  in  the  country.     A  magnificent  railroad  bridge  spans 


224  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO.  f 

j 

the  Ohio  River  at  Henderson,  being  the  longest  that  crosses  the 
river,  and  having  cost  $2,000,000. 

The  Kentucky  shore  now  becomes  very  bare  except  for  in- 
numerable small  landings.  On  the  Indiana  shore,  after  West 
Franklin,  comes  the  town  of  Mount  Vernon.  Then  the  river  is 
everywhere  broken  by  little  islands;  and  twelve  miles  below 
Uniontown  the  Wabash  divides  the  State  of  Indiana  from  Illi- 
nois.    Raleigh  is  opposite. 

Shawneetown,  an  old  site  and  a  prosperous  town,  follows  in 
Illinois;  Casey ville  and  Weston,  in  Kentucky;  860  miles  below 
Pittsburgh  is  the  famous  Cave  in  Rock,  Illinois,  noted  for  its 
great  natural  beauty,  and  as  wild  a  spot  as  there  is  on  the  whole 
Ohio  River.  For  years  it  was  the  rendezvous  of  a  daring  gang 
of  outlaws,  known  as  Murrell's  men. 

Separated  by  only  two  or  three  miles  from  each  other  are 
Elizabethtown,  Rose  Clare,  and  Golconda,  Illinois  ;  and  a  little 
above  Smithland,  Kentucky,  the  Cumberland  River  empties  into 
the  Ohio.  Paducah,  twelve  miles  below,  is  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Tennessee  River.  Below  Paducah  there  are .  the  towns  of 
Brooklyn,  Belgrade,  Metropolis,  Caledonia,  and  Mound  City, 
Illinois,  a  city  of  "great  expectations,"  which  have  never  yet 
been  realized.  Its  situation  is  most  favorable  for  manufac- 
turing, and  the  deep  water  from  here  all  the  way  down  to 
Cairo  makes  it  the  best  winter  harbor  for  vessels  in  Western 
waters.  The  prosperity  or  decay  of  the  city — its  destiny,  in 
fact — is  bound  up  in  that  of  Cairo.  It  was  an  important  naval 
station  during  the  war. 

Thus  approaching  the  city  of  Cairo,  Illinois,  one  can  not 
fail  to  realize  its  wonderful  position  at  the  junction  of  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers.     Though  in  1842  only  60  of  the 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER. 


225 


2,000   enterprising    people   were   left,   on    account   of   financial 
disaster,    who    in 
1 84 1    came    here 
to  found  a  town, 
yet   the   active, 
prosperous  city  of 
to-day   shows    no 
trace  of   any  ill- 
fortune.     From  a 
first    glance    one  g 
would   suppose  5 
the  situation  un-  ^ 
safe,  on  account  of 
the    frequent   r 
floods  of  the  two   > 
rivers;  but  exam- 
ination shows  the 
city    to    be    well 
guarded    by    im- 
mense levees, 
which     are    only 
needed  to  protect 
it   from   overflow 
during  one  or  two 
months   in  the 
year ;    during  the 
remaining  ten  or 
eleven    it    is   far 
above  the  level  of 


the  waters,  and  the  system  of  drainage  is  perfect. 
gateway  to  the  entire  South. 


Cairo  is  the 


226  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO.  / 

No  richer  soil  than  that  of  Cairo  and  Alexander  County  can 
be  found  anywhere.  The  products  of  the  North,  the  South, 
the  East,  and  the  West  are  produced  at  their  very  doors.  Corn, 
that  great  Northern  product,  is  produced  more  abundantly  here 
than  anywhere  else  in  the  country.  The  flour  manufactured 
from  the  white  winter  wheat  commands  the  highest  price  in  the 
markets  of  the  world.  Oats  are  produced  with  profit  everywhere 
here,  while  sorghum-cane,  Irish  and  sweet  potatoes,  and  all  or- 
dinary farm  products  grow  in  the  greatest  profusion.  Western 
Kentucky  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  growth  of  tobacco,  while 
it  is  raised  abundantly  in  Southern  Illinois,  especially  in  Will- 
iamson County,  and  also  in  South-east  Missouri.  Fields  of 
growing  cotton,  that  great  Southern  staple,  may  be  seen  bloom- 
ing every  year  within  thirty  miles  of  the  city,  in  South-east  Mis- 
souri. Clover  seems  to  be  indigenous  in  all  this  part  of  the 
country,  and  its  production,  both  for  hay  and  for  the  seed,  is 
increasing  rapidly. 

All  the  uplands  of  Southern  Illinois,  Western  Kentucky, 
and  South-eastern  Missouri  are  pre-eminently  adapted  to  the 
raising  of  fruits  and  vegetables.  I^arge  fields  are  devoted  to 
pie-plant  and  tomatoes.  Strawberry-fields,  ranging  in  size  from 
one  to  forty  acres,  are  found  here.  The  crop  is  never  a  failure, 
and  is  generally  profitable.  Raspberries,  blackberries,  and  all  the 
smaller  fruits  grow  luxuriantly.  The  crop  of  blackberries,  which 
grow  wild  in  the  woods  in  all  this  part  of  the  country,  is  beyond 
measure.  A  plain  statement  of  the  facts  would  seem  almost 
incredible. 

The  culture  of  grapes  upon  the  hillsides  of  Pulaski  County 
is  a  growing  industry,  and  is  found  to  be  very  profitable.  Apples 
and  pears  are  produced  for  market,  and  with  profit,  while  peaches 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  227 

are  successfully  raised  about  thirteen  to  fourteen  years  out  of 
twenty.  The  demand  for  peaches  is  such  that  an  orchard  bear- 
ing a  good  peach-crop  once  in  three  years  is  a  valuable  invest- 
ment. Just  across  the  river,  in  Missouri,  in  the  counties  of 
Mississippi  and  Scott,  there  is  a  large  area  of  country,  embrac- 
ing many  thousands  of  acres  of  the  finest  land,  which  seems 
especially  adapted  to  the  raising  of  watermelons. 

In  seasons  of  great  plenty,  fruit  here  frequently  rots  on  the 
ground,  when,  as  often  happens,  the  market  is  overcrowded,  as 
Cairo  is  the  center  of  the  best  fruit-growing  region  between  New 
Jersey  and  Southern  California. 

It  is  said  by  experts  that  Cairo  is  the  most  convenient 
point  in  the  country  for  the  manufacture  of  iron  and  steel.  A 
mixture  of  ores  is  always  necessary  for  this  purpose,  and  the 
cost  of  transportation,  an  important  item ;  and  nowhere  can  coal 
limestone,  and  coke  be  brought  together  so  cheaply  as  at  Cairo. 
Fine  Bessemer  steel  could  be  produced  here  at  less  cost  than  at 
any  other  point  in  the  United  States.  These  facts  were  recog- 
nized by  a  Pittsburgh  iron  king,  but  he  died  before  the  erection 
of  his  contemplated  iron- works  here  could  be  carried  out,  and  it 
remains  for  some  one  else  to  execute  his  unfinished  plans. 

We  have  now  floated  the  entire  lengthy  of  this  wonderful 
river.  Touching  its  commercial  and  industrial  importance  to  the 
Republic,  the  following  cutting  may  not  be  inappropriate  :  "  The 
seven  States  lying  contiguous  to  the  Ohio  River,  whose  resources 
make  up  the  vast  wealth  of  the  Ohio  Valley,  have  within  half  a 
million  of  the  population  of  the  Atlantic  States.  The  tonnage 
and  commerce  of  the  Ohio  River  is  equal  in  value  to  the  im- 
port and  export  tonnage  of  the  entire  Atlantic  sea-board.  The 
Ohio    River   States   have  paid   in  internal   revenue   taxes  over 


228  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

$100,000,000  since  1861,  and  yet  millions  are  spent  on  im- 
provements along  the  sea-coast,  where  only  hundreds  are  spent 
in  improving  the  Ohio  River." 

Before  our  last  word  is  written,  we  wish  to  say  to  the 
reader  who  has  come  with  us  thus  far,  that  the  unsketched 
Ohio,  which  we  have  not  been  able  to  present  to  you  "in 
its  very  habit  as  it  lives,"  is  as  charming  and  attractive  as 
are  many  of  the  pictured  pages  we  have  laid  before  you.  Some 
of  the  un-illustrated  rivers — for  the  affluents  that  feed  it  are  a 
part  of  itself — have  not  the  grandeur,  nor  the  weird  fascination 
of  the  mountain  views  of  its  Allegheny-born  streams ;  yet  there 
is  nothing  more  unique  in  lowland,  sylvan  scenery  than  the  lux- 
uriant vegetation  which  covers  the  valleys  of  the  Muskingum, 
the  Hocking,  the  Scioto,  the  Miamis,  and  the  Wabash  Rivers. 
Above  the  rich  bottom-lands  rise  low,  rounded  hills,  that  skirt 
the  winding  shores  in  a  panoramic  succession  of  changing  vistas. 
The  freshness  and  tenderness,  the  variety  of  scenery  thus  given 
to  the  long  river-reaches,  mocks  the  skill  of  the  writer,  while 
it  yet  courts  the  pencil  of  the  artist. 

And  now  for  that  ''last  word  "  which  awaits  the  saying,  and 
which  is  somewhat  difficult  to  say.  It  is  addressed  to  the 
dwellers  by  the  RivKR ;  and  to  those  who  live  upon,  and  gather 
their  gains  from  its  waters. 

It  was  not  without  reason  that  the  illustrations  selected  for 
this  book  were  drawn  chiefly  from  the  mountain  regions  "  Wherk 
THE  River  is  Born,"  and  from  the  forest  uplands,  where,  in  the 
deep,  cool,  shaded  pools,  the  pure  life-giving  and  life-conserving 
waters  are  collected. 

The  pictured  exhibit  we  have  herein  given  of  the  unspoiled 
river,  while   it   lingers  in   the  thickly   wooded  retreats  of  the 


AFLOAT  ON  THE  RIVER.  229 

mountain  glens,  is  of  itself  a  plea  for  the  preservation  of  its 
purity  in  the  thousand-mile  course  it  runs  through  the  lowlands. 
If  the  lovers  of  the  Ohio  do  not  defend  it  from  the  evils  civil- 
ization has  begun  to  fasten,  and  will  fasten  upon  it  a  hundred 
years  from  now,  the  beautiful  valle^^  of  the  "  Deep  Shining  River  " 
will  be  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  Death.* 

Nature,  with  her  eternal  resistance  to  man's  misdoing,  is 
constantly  striving  to  free  the  river.  The  floods,  with  all  their 
distructiveness,  are  not  altogether  evil  besoms.  Their  rapid  action 
has,  time  and  again,  started  the  sluggish  currents  between  neigh- 
boring islands,  and  forced  the  quick  motion  of  living  waters  into 
the  forgotten  by-paths  of  the  stream.  The  Steamboats  also 
create  a  certain  activity  which  assists  in  the  release  of  obstruc- 
tions; and  the  River  Commission  has  been  of  immense  use  in 
keeping  the  channels  open.  But  the  factor  which  could  do  most, 
and  which  is  doing  least,  is  Public  Opinion.  Let  that  giant 
shoulder  the  cause  of  the  river,  and  sanitary  science  will  smil- 
ingly come  forward  with  all  the  appliances  of  experience  and 
skill,  to  forward  the  good  work. 

The  retired  steamboatmen,  who  are  struggling  to  sustair 
the  enmii  of  existence  in  the  gloom-breeding  grandeur  of  gilded 
salons  (unlike,  and  isot  so  heartsome  as  the  "  Ladies' Cabin  "), 
should  do  something  for  the  relief  of  the  beautiful  highway,  of 
the  waters,  upon  which  they  met  benignant  fortune.  Their 
knowledge  of  the  river,  their  experience  of  its  moods,  the  con- 
crete  wisdom,  with   its  resultant  use,  which  is  the  informing 


*  The  reader  is  assured  that  this  is  not  merely  an  aesthetic  point,  used  to  win  the 
sympathy  of  the  lovers  of  the  beautiful,  but  a  question  of  grave  and  material  impor- 
tance to  the  dwellers  in  the  towns  and  cities  upon  the  Rivkr.  Should  it  serve  for 
another  quarter  of  a  century  as  a  great  open  sewer  for  dead  animals,  and  an  unlimited 
number  of  sewer  systems ;  each  lovely  winding  river-stretch  will  be  a  central  curve 
from  which  malarial  evolvents  will  be  described,  the  locus  of  the  centers  of  hun- 
dreds of  deadly  circles. 


wen  into  an     Kjnio 


230  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

Thought  of  their  collective  accrescence,  all  warrant  their  fitness 
for  the  role  of  "advisory  council"  to  the  "River  Legislators;" 
who  now  only  add  a  "  worse  confounded  confusion"  to  the  hope- 
less entanglements  of  the  "How  Not  To  Do  It"  Bureau,  of  In- 
ternal Improvements  at  Washington. 

The  Inter-state  Law  did  awaken  a  rippling  ebb  and  flow  of 
trade  upon  the  river;  and  if  the  "Line"  autocrats  and  the  "Old- 
timers"  will  "pull  together"  the  trade  will  swell  into  an  "Ohio 
flood."  For  a  well-ordered  "  Line  " 
of  "Passenger  and  Light  Freight 
Steamers,"  running  as  Day-boaTvS,  con- 
necting at  proper  distances  from  Pitts- 
burgh to  Cairo,  would  open  the  river 
to  a  new  traveling  public.  Tourists, 
lovers  of  beautiful  scenery,  people 
who  travel  for  pleasure  and  who  take 
pleasure  in  travel, 
would  seek  the  lux- 
urious motion  and 
the  lovely  outlook, 
to  be  found  under 
a  canvas  awning, 
in  a  reclining-chair, 
upon  the  "hurricane- 
deck  "  of  a  light- 
draught  "side-wheel- 
er" in  Mid-River. 


AFPEl^pj^. 


APPENDIX  A,  No.  I.— Page  42. 

The  fact  here  admitted,  that  ''  these  people  had  lived  with  La  Salle  for 
some  monthSy'  refutes  the  statement  made  immediately  after  by  M.  Galli- 
n^e,  that/*  La  Salle  did  not  understand  the  Iroquois  language."  To  accent 
properly  the  contradictory  "  fact "  and  "  statement,"  an  excerpt  from  the  rec- 
ords is  added.  "If  M.  de  la  Salle  had  not  preferred  glor>'  to  gain,  he  had 
only  to  stay  quietly  in  his  fort  and  accumulate  at  least  twenty-five  thousand 
livres  a  year  through  the  trade  that  he  had  drawn  there.  One  can  say  with 
truth  that  he  is  the  only  man  who  could  conduct  the  enterprise  with  which 
he  has  been  charged.  He  is  irreproachable  in  manners,  discreet  in  his  con- 
duct, and  he  maintains  order  among  his  people.  ...  He  understands 
civil,  militarj',  and  naval  architectiiVe ;  he  is  a  good  agriculturist;  he  speaks 
or  understands  four  or  five  of  the  Indian  dialects,  and  has  a  great  facility 
for  acquiring  languages;  he  knows  Indian  customs  and  manners,  and  turns 
them  as  he  will  through  his  address  and  eloquence,  as  well  as  through  their 
esteem  for  him.  In  his  journeys  he  lives  no  better  than  his  people,  and  is 
willing  to  suffer  any  hardship  to  encourage  them,  and  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  with  the  protection  of  the  ministries  he  will  found  colonies  of 
more  value  to  France  than  any  that  have  yet  been  established." 


APPENDIX  A,  No.  II.— Page  53. 

The  original  Ohio  Company  was  organized  to  secure  to  the  English  the 
Ohio,  and  to  check  the  progress  southward  of  the  **  New  France,"  appar- 
ently so  firmly  planted  in  Canada,  by  establishing  trading-posts,  protected 
by  small  forts  west  of  the  Alleghenies.  In  1848,  a  petition  to  the  crown 
was  sent  over,  in  which  Thomas  Lee,  Lawrence  and  Augustus  Washington, 
Robert  Dinwiddie,  surveyor-general  for  the  Southern  Colonies,  and  their 
associates,  among  whom  was  John  Hanbury — an  influential  citizen,  as  well 

23T 


232  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

as  a  leading  merchant  of  London — asked  for  a  grant  of  "500,000  acres  of 
land  between  the  Monongahela  and  the  Kanawha,  or  on  the  northern  mar- 
gin of  the  Ohio."  In  March,  1749,  the  king  instructed  the  governor  of  Vir- 
ginia, to  whom  all  this  vast  territory  belonged,  to  make  the  grant.  Before 
1748,  when  the  Ohio  Company  was  formed,  there  were  no  settlements  west 
of  the  mountains. 

Hitherto  the  Indian  trade  had  been,  so  far  as  the  English  were  concerned, 
almost  entirely  confined  to  Western  Pennsylvania.  For,  owing  to  the  con- 
stant and  relentless  conflicts  between  the  Indians  and  the  early  settlers  in 
Kentucky,  trade  there  meant  the  spoil  of  the  victor. 

The  original  "Ohio  Company"  won  favor  with  influential  personages  in 
England  and  in  all  the  Southern  Colonies,  yet  the  constant  troubles  in 
which  the  whole  country  was  involved  retarded  its  progress.  Its  'one  great 
success  was  the  promotion  of  emigration  westward,  and  the  stability  of  the 
settlements  effected  by  its  efforts;  which,  although  interrupted  by  the  con- 
dition of  affairs,  were  constantly  resumed,  until  the  success  of  the  Revo- 
lution rendered  its  existence  unnecessary. 

As  early  as  1751  their  agent  visited  the  tribes  upon  the  Great  Miami 
River,  and  established  a  trading-post  in  one  of  the  Twigtwee  towns,  belong- 
ing to  the  Miami  Confederacy.  The  trail  opened  by  this  trade  was  from 
the  Miami  towns  to  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto,  down  the  Ohio  to  the  Falls, 
and  back  by  way  of  the  Kentucky  River  and  the  Cumberland  Gap  to  Vir- 
ginia, which  was  then  much  the  safest  route,  as  the  Southern  Indians  were 
less  inimical  to  the  English  than  were  the  Lake  tribes. 

In  1760,  nearly  a  century  after  the  discovery  of  the  Ohio  by  La  Salle, 
the  Virginia  "  Ohio  Company  "  resumed  the  surveys  which  were  interrupted 
by  the  French  and  English  war. 

One  singular  fact  connected  with  the  history  of  the  time  deserves 
notice:  "Mr.  Lawrence  Washington,  upon  whom  fell  the  chief  management 
of  the  affairs  of  this  company  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Lee,  conceived  the 
very  plausible  plan  of  inviting  the  "  Pennsylvania  Dutch  "  and  their  breth- 
ren from  Germany  to  colonize  this  region.  Their  only  objection  was  the 
parish  tg,xes  they  would  have  to  pay  to  support  the  Episcopal  Church.  Mr. 
Washington  exerted  himself  to  get  this  difficulty  removed,  but  High  Church 
Episcopacy  was  too  strong  for  him,  and  so  his  scheme  failed ;  and  a  large 
portion  of  Western  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  was  kept  open  for  a  differ- 
ent race— mainly  for  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians.     .     .     .     Mr.  Washington, 


APPENDIX.  233 

in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Haubury,  of  London,  wrote :  '  I  conversed  with  all  the 
Pennsyvania  Dutch  whom  I  met,  and  much  recommended  their  settling. 
The  chief  reason  against  it  was  the  payment  of  an  English  clergyman, 
whom  few  understood,  while  none  made  use  of  him.  It  has  been  my 
opinion,  and  I  hope  ever  will  be,  that  restraints  on  conscience  are  cruel  in 
regard  to  those  on  whom  they  are  imposed,  and  injurious  to  the  country 
imposing  them.  ...  As  the  ministry  have  thus  far  shown  the  true 
spirit  of  patriotism  by  encouraging  the  extending  of  our  dominions  in 
America,  I  doubt  not,  by  an  application,  they  would  go  still  further  and 
complete  what  they  have  begun,  by  procuring  some  kind  of  charter  to  pre- 
vent the  residents  on  the  Ohio  and  its  branches  from  being  subject  to  parish 
taxes.  They  all  assured  me  that  they  might  have  from  Germany  any  num- 
ber of  settlers,  could  they  but  obtain  their  favorite  exemption.  I  have 
promised  to  endeavor  for  it,  and  now  do  my  utmost  by  this  letter.' " 
(History  of  •'  The  Old  Redstone  Presbytery.") 


APPENDIX  A,  No.  III.— Page  64. 

In  1774  the  first  Continental  Congress,  in  its  second  session,  had  ap- 
pointed commissioners  to  reoccupy  Fort  Pitt,  and  make  treaties  with  the  In- 
dians on  behalf  of  the  new  government.  The  British  had  garrisons  in  the 
Lake  forts.  In  Kentucky^  Walker,  Boone,  Bullit,  Kenton,  Harrod,  the  Mc- 
Afees.the  Taylors,  and  others,  were  building  stockades  for  defense  against  the 
Indians,  who  were  supplied  with  arms  and  ammunition  by  the  English. 

The  master-spirit  of  the  time,  George  Rogers  Clark,  of  Albemarle 
County,  Virginia,  was  in  Philadelphia  perfecting  his  plans  for  an  offensive 
campaign  into  the  Illinois  country,  which  was  to  overawe  the  disaffected 
tribes,  and  win  the  wavering  for  the  new  government.  On  the  2d  of  June, 
1774,  the  British  Parliament  had  passed  an  act  which  included  in  the  bounds 
of  Canada  all  the  country  between  the  Ohio  River  and  the  Lakes.  It  had 
already  become  evident  that  it  was  to  be  defended  by  their  Indian  allies. 
Clark  secured  the  cordial  co-operation  of  Patrick  Henry,  then  governor  of 
Virginia.  After  many  vexatious  delays  this  force  was  finally  assembled  at 
Fort  Pitt,  and  went  down  the  Ohio,  arriving  at  Louisville  the  24th  of  June, 
1778,  where  he  was  joined  by  the  Kentucky  volunteers.  On  the  4th  of  July 
they  entered  Kaskaskia  after  nightfall,  and  the  first  intimation  the  inhab- 


234  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

itants  had  of  their  presence  was  the  startling  cry,  "  If  any  one  conies  into 
the  streets  he  shall  be  shot." 

On  the  6tli  of  February,  1778,  France  had  recognized  the  independence 
of  the  United  States.  Clark  heard  the  news  on  the  Mississippi,  and  imme- 
diately began  recruiting  a  company  made  up  of  the  French  settlers,  and 
through  them  influenced  the  Indians  to  make  common  cause  with  the  Long 
Knives  and  the  French  against  the  English.  Through  Grand  Door,  the 
leading  chief  of  the  Piankeshaws,  this  was  accomplished.  The  news  spread 
through  the  Illinois  tribes.  A  council  of  representative  chiefs  met  at 
Kahokia,  and  the  alliance  Clark  proposed  was  ratified. 

Captain  Helm,  with  a  fighting  contingent  of  one  soldier,  represented  the 
Americans  at  Vincennes  when  it  was  captured  by  a  force  of  nearly  five 
hundred  British  and  Indians.  Helm  had  ordered  a  "  halt"  when  they  were 
within  hearing  distance,  and  Colonel  Hamilton  stopped,  but  demanded  the 
surrender  of  the  garrison.  "On  what  terms?"  asked  Helm.  "The  honors 
of  war,"  replied  Hamilton.    And  on  those  terms  Vincennes  was  surrendered. 

A  Spanish  trader,  named  Francis  Vigo,  carried  the  news  to  Clark,  who 
decided  at  once  to  recapture  the  place,  and  with  sturdy  determination  and 
daring  started  across  the  flooded  country  in  February.  When  they  ap- 
proached the  Wabash  it  took  three  days  wading  through  the  flooded  shal- 
lows to  gain  the  bank.  Again  there  were  flooded  wastes  to  cross  before 
reaching  the  town. 

On  the  24th  Hamilton  surrendered  Vincennes,  and  the  entire  North- 
west, except  the  Lake  posts,  was  held  by  the  Americans.  A  convoy  of 
stores  and  provisions  on  its  way  from  Detroit  to  the  British  at  Vin- 
cennes was  captured  a  few  days  after  the  surrender  by  Captain  Helm, 
who  was  released  at  the  capitulation.  Hamilton  was  sent  a  prisoner  to 
Virginia,  where  he  was  put  in  irons  and  treated  with  great  severity  for 
having  offered  the  Indians  premiums  for  "white  scalps." 

Among  the  great  leaders  of  the  pioneers,  the  men  who  marched  in  the 
forefront  of  battle  and  of  civilization,  there  is  no  more  martial  figure  than 
that  of  George  Rogers  Clark.  He  was  one  of  those  "born  fighters"  who 
always  reach  their  place  in  the  world  at  the  opportune  moment.  Because 
of  his  Virginian  birth  he  was  all  the  more  the  Kentuckian  of  the  Ken- 
tuckians.  In  the  logic  of  that  time  a  war  of  defense  was  a  war  of  extermi- 
nation, and  raids  into  the  Indian  country  were  always  raids  of  reprisal.  Such 
a  fighter  "cared  little  for  gain,  and  still,  less  for  his  hide;"  but  Dame  For- 


APPENDIX,  235 

tune,  who  love  3  men  of  his  mettle,  kept  putting  into  his  hands  the  forsaken 
opportunities  and  the  dropped  threads  of  less  lucky  adventurers.  But 
one  man  hag  ever  stood  above  Clark  in  the  estimation  of  the  State  and  the 
hearts  of  the  people ;  and  to  be  second  to  that  man  was  a  patent  of  princely 
rank ;  for  Henry  Ci,ay  was  the  flower  of  his  race,  and  the  uncrowned  king 
of  Kentucky. 

APPENDIX  A,  No.  IV.— Page  65. 

SETTI,EMENT    OF     G  AI,I.IPOI.lS. 

In  1 791  a  French  colony  settled  at  Gallipolis.  It  was  largely  made  up 
of  the  better  middle  class,  anxious  to  escape  the  opening  horrors  of  the 
French  Revolution.  They  had  purchased  lands  of  "  The  Scioto  Company," 
which  Judge  Hall  says,  in  his  "  Statistics  of  the  West,"  "was  formed  from, 
or  was  an  oflfshoot  of,  the  Ohio  Company. 

"  This  company  should  not  be  confounded  with  the  original  *  Ohio  Com- 
pany,' organized  by  the  Washingtons,  the  Lees,  other  Maryland  and  Virginia 
gentlemen,  and  the  Hanburys  of  London  in,  1748.  The  original  Ohio  Com- 
pany, after  having  achieved  the  objects  for  which  they  were  organized,  the 
settlement  of  families  upon  the  lands  granted  them  by  the  king,  and  *^the 
establishment  of  trading-posts  and  frontier-posts  to  protect  these  settlers 
from  the  French  and  the  Indians,'  had  dissolved,  and  left  the  unoccupied 
lands  free  to  all  comers.  The  new  '  Ohio  Company,'  organized  by  the  Put- 
nams  and  other  New  Englanders  in  1786,  took  the  title  of  the  old  company, 
without  any  distinguishing  prefix  to  show  that  there  was  not  the  slightest 
connection  or  interest  which  warranted  the  revival  of  the  name." 

'•  The  Scioto  Company,"  a  branch  of  the  new  "  Ohio  Company,"  sent  in 
June  of  1788,  one  Joel  Barlow  to  France  to  distribute  "Proposals  to  Colo- 
nists," and  sell  them  lands. 

We  give  a  quotation  from  their  "  Proposals,"  which  is,  of  itself,  evidence 
of  the  intended  fraud : 

"The  climate  is  wholesome  and  delightful.  Frost,  even  in  winter, 
is  almost  entirely  unknown.  A  river  called,  for  its  eminence,  *  The  Beau- 
tiful River,'  abounds  in  excellent  fish  of  vast  size.  There  are  noble  for- 
ests, consisting  of  trees  that  spontaneously  produce  sugar,  and  a  plant  that 
yields  ready-made  candles.  There  is  venison  in  plenty ;  no  dangerous 
wild  animals,  but  swine  which  multiply  from  a  pair  to  two  hundred  in 


236  THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 

two  or  three  years  without  the  trouble  or  expense  of  caring  for  them. 
There  are  no  taxes  and  no  military  service."  Howe,  from  whom  we 
are  quoting,  continues:  "A  handsomely  engraved  colored  map  repre- 
sented the  Scioto  Company's  tract  as  extending  one  hundred  miles  north 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Kanawha.  The  lands  of  the  Ohio  Company  to  the 
east,  next  to  which  was  the  plat  of  an  inhabited  and  cleared  countr}^  had 
upon  the  plat  these  words :  *  Sept  rangs  de  municipalite  acquis  par  des 
individues  et  occupes  depuis,  1786.'  The  map  is  as  inaccurate  in  geog- 
raphy as  it  is  fraudulent  in  its  statements,  for  it  represents  the  country 
as  cleared  and  inhabited,  when  it  was,  in  fact,  a  wilderness." 

The  agent  seems  to  have  happily  timed  his  enterprise.  The  darkest 
days  of  the  French  Revolution  were  dawning,  and  doubtful  of  what  would 
be  the  ending,  people  caught  at  this  offer  of  an  unoccupied  paradise.  Deeds 
were  executed  and  recorded  at  Paris,  and  five  hundred  victims  of  the 
fraud— ^r  there  was  neither  grant  nor  tract,  no  Scioto  Company  legally 
existing — sailed  for  America,  landing  at  Alexandria.  There  had  been  par- 
tial arrangements  made  for  the  reception  of  the  emigrants  from  France 
before  they  left  France.  The  first  town  planned,  "Fair  Haven,"  was  so 
unfair  a  haven  that  it  was  submerged  as  soon  it  was  laid  out ;  then  "  Colonel 
Rufus  Putnam  made  a  clearing  and  erected  block-houses  and  cabins  at 
Gallipolis,  four  miles  below,  which  was  ten  feet  above  high-water  mark." 
Among  the  five  hundred  who  came  to  Gallipolis  there  were  twelve  farmers 
and  laborers.  After  six  months  the  "company,"  which  had  agreed  to 
supply  provisions,  stopped  the  supply.  The  only  excuse  given  was  that 
"  their  agent  in  France  had  run  away  with  the  money  paid  for  the  lands." 

The  winter  was  unusually  severe,  and  the  Kanawha  and  the  Ohio 
were  frozen  over.  The  hunters  brought  no  meat,  and  the  colonists  had 
no  flour.  The  "Ohio  Company"  disavowed  the  sales,  and  the  poor,  de- 
luded French  people  learned  from  the  Indians  that  the  pretended  "  Scioto 
Company"  was  composed  of  "New  Englanders  who  resided  at  a  great 
distance  from  Gallipolis.  Their  names  even  were  unknown  to  the  French, 
who  spoke  no  English."  After  suffering  the  extreme  of  want,  many  died 
of  the  privations  and  the  heart-breaking  disappointment.  A  swamp  in  the 
rear  of  the  village  caused  a  frightful  epidemic,  and,  although  a  French 
lawyer  living  in  Philadelphia  finally  got  them  a  special  grant  from  the 
government,  very  few  of  the  five  hundred  colonists  brought  from  France 
settled  on  these  lands. 


APPENDIX.  237 

APPENDIX  A,  No.  v.— Page  1S2. 

The  Iroquois  Indians,  who  guided  La  Salle  to  the  Falls  of  the  OHIO, 
borrowed  the  uarae  which  they  gave  the  RivER  from  the  Delaware  lan- 
guage. In  the  varied  dialects  of  the  Confederation  it  was  indifferently 
called  Ohio  or  Allegheny,  both  signifying  "  fine,"  "  fair,"  or  "  shining  river." 
In  the  Canadian  Records  it  is  given,  "  Ohio  oii  Olighisipon  que  veut  dire 
en  Iroquois  et  en  Outaouac  La  Belle  Riviere:'  [Ohio  or  Olighisipon  which, 
in  the  Iroquois  and  Ottawa  language,  means  The  Beautiful  River.]  How- 
ever, in  the  different  dialects,  the  name  was  so  changed  by  elisions  and 
additions  that  the  original  meaning  is  but  imperfectly  preserved. 

Among  the  varied  names  we  find  "  Ohiop:6chen,"  "  Ohiophanne," 
"  Ohiopeckhanne  ;"  and  by  different  translators  the  names  are  given  as 
"Very  White  Stream,"  "Very  Deep  White  River,"  "The  Shining 
River,"  "  The  White  Shining  River,"  and  "  The  Deep  Broken  Shining 
River."  The  last  gives  a  key  to  the  meaning,  as  it  was  evidently  sug- 
gested by  the  wind-capped  undulations  in  the  long  river-reaches ;  particu- 
larly is  this  noticeable  in  the  wide  stretches  between  low-lying  shores, 
after  the  large  Southern  affluents  have  poured  in  the  waters  they  collected  in 
.the  Allegheny  and  Cumberland  Mountains.  Besides,  the  reader  should  not 
forget  that,  through  its  northern  and  southern  affluents  conjoined,  the  Ohio 
drains  an  area  of  190464  square  miles. 


Before  closing  this  last  page  the  Editor  wishes  to  give  such  brief 
mention  as  the  space  permits,  to  authors  and  authorities  that  have  been 
particularly  helpful  in  this  work.  First,  to  M.  Margry;  for  only  since 
the  publication  of  the  records  in  the  French  Archives  could  the  outline 
history  of  the  Discoverer  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  be  given  as  authen- 
tic beyond  cavil.  Before  that  valuable  work  was  given  to  the  public — 
Decouvertes  et  ^tablissetnents  des-Fran^ais  dans  V  Amerique  Septentrionale, 
par  Pierre  Margry — there  were,  here  and  there,  brief  allusions  to  the 
discoveries  of  La  Sahe  in  the  writings  of  his  contemporaries.  But  these 
were  so  uncertain  in  character,  and  apparently  so  unadvised  \w  statement, 
that  they  seemed  rather  broken  echoes  running  through  the  centuries — 
vague  sounds  suggestive  of  some  hidden  history— than  definite  or  con- 
nected data  upon  which  to  found  belief.     Next  to  these  records  of  the 


238 


THE  PICTURESQUE  OHIO. 


Canadian  Reports,  nothing  could  have  been  more  suggestive  than  Park- 
man's  admirably  written  Histories.  From  Parkman  long  extracts  have 
been  given,  which  told  the  story  of  Pontiac  so  well  that  any  change  in  the 
wording  would  have  been  a  loss  to  the  reader.  In  addition  to  what  ts  bor- 
rowed from  these  two  unique  authorities,  the  Editor  wishes  to  acknowl- 
edge an  indebtedness  for  local  coloring  to  Judge  Hai,i„  Howe,  and  the 
legion  of  writers  who  have  sketched  the  salient  points  of  Western  adven- 
tures and  adventurers. 

C.  M.  c. 


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